Easy Target
by AKAJipster
Summary: Beka and Harper are stranded on the Eureka Maru after the engines and power fail during an escape from unknown hostilities, they are left dead in space, an easy target, whilst they await collection by the Andromeda.


Title: Easy Target  
Author: AKA Jipster  
Disclaimer: Nopes don't own Andromeda  
Rating: PG-13  
Setting/Season: Not really relevant as such to the story, but probably sometime towards the end of S2 and end of S3 (in other words Tyr is mentioned but Rev isn't)  
Spoilers: None that I can think of  
Warnings: Violence, Torture, Angst  
Comments/Feedback: Welcomed!  
Summary: Beka and Harper are stranded on the Eureka Maru after the engines and power fail during an escape from unknown hostilities, they are left dead in space, an easy target, whilst they await collection by the Andromeda.

Easy Target

The explosion rocked the Eureka Maru violently to the side but the craft soon recovered its trajectory in time to open up a slip point. Still taking hits from a craft just outside the slip point range, the Maru disappeared into the spear of light and was gone, and the trailing craft was unable to follow.

Inside the Maru, Beka Valentine expertly navigated the slipstream with ease, her heightened skills easily detecting the shifts in environment and able to compensate. The Maru did not sound healthy as sparks and small explosions sounded around her. A few moments later she saw an exit point and used it, exiting into normal space, another huge explosion rocked the ship. Beka recovered her senses and finally felt able to relax as she shut down the rapidly dying main controls.

Taking a needed deep breath Beka took a cautionary glance at the damage report but soon looked away, they were basically dead in the water with that last slipstream killing what was left of the engines. Alarms rang through the ship and the red lights flashed to let Beka visually know what she already knew, her ship was once again broken.

"Harper," Beka called over the comms.

After a few seconds an exhausted sounding engineer responded. "Boss, we're toasted and fried, and we're going no where soon so settle down with a good book and let the Harper do his magic," Seamus Harper suggested.

"You sure you have things under control?" Beka checked, and on cue all the lights flickered off and the regular hum of the ship wound down to near silence.

"Ow," Harper's voice suddenly returned with pain, catching Beka's attention once again. "Fully under control," he managed after a slight pause.

"OK, do what you can, I'll see if I can raise the Andromeda to come and pick us up," Beka frowned. "But it could take a while, they are over six hours out of communication range alone," she added with a sigh, thankful that for the minute they seemed to have enough juice to send a distress call out to the Commonwealth flagship.

"It's going to take me a week just to work out what I need to fix down here," Harper complained, sounding like he was on the move as he spoke, she could hear his heavy boots pounding against the decking. "We're on emergency power, which should be ok for a day or so," Harper explained. "On the bright side we still have the most important functions like ship wide comms, coffee machine, power shower but the engines, slipstream, navigation, and all that other useless stuff is deader than dead."

"Stop being stupidly optimistic, Harper, I've warned you about that before," Beka mocked, as she keyed in the message to send to the Andromeda.

Beka sat back as she continued to absently key in the message to the Andromeda requesting urgent assistance. It had been a pretty ordinary day up until the point an unmarked vessel decided to use the Maru for target practice. They had just visited a shady drift for emergency supplies and they must have also upset a couple of people in the process, it could have had something to do with Harper starting a fight in the bar just before they left.

Beka shook her head, or maybe it has something to do with her refusing to pay for a meal she had eaten, but it had tasted gross and undercooked. She felt it certainly wasn't worth paying for, but that had been a few hours ago since they'd done that particular runner, so she decided to go with the theory that it was Harper's fault, and smiled with amusement as she did so.

In the end, Beka had no idea why the small vessel had decided to attack, and now she probably would never know, as the vessel hadn't followed them into the slipstream. Getting to her feet Beka moved back through the ship and to her own quarters, taking Harper's advice she settled down onto her bunk and picked up her latest holo novel.

* * *

Seamus Harper was tangled up in a mess of wires as the sparks flew around him from the welder. Beka now stood and watched him for a few minutes, it had only been an hour or so since they had exited the slipstream and shut down, and she was already bored.

Once the welding ceased, she walked over to the engineer and offered him a can of Sparky cola. It took him a moment to register that Beka was stood there, and when Harper finally did he stopped working and smiled at the offering.

"Thanks," Harper readily accepted the cola and quickly opened it, taking a few gulps before getting to his feet.

They both leaned on the rail as they took a moment to take in the mess that used to be the engines. "I guess you have a lot of work ahead of you," Beka observed with a frown.

Harper shrugged. "It'll keep me busy till the Andromeda arrives," he shrugged. "What do you plan to do with all the spare time?"

Beka took a deep breath that soon turned into a sigh. "No idea, I didn't pack for the long haul, and I've already finished my novel," she frowned. "But, I don't feel too good, so I think I'm going to try and sleep the time away and hope whatever it is will pass."

"What's up?" Harper asked casually, as he finished the Sparky and threw the can amongst the junk he had piled up.

"I don't know, probably just tired or something," Beka shrugged. "Had to keep our wits about us on that drift, and then the chase, it's probably just everything catching up with me," she dismissed with a smile.

Harper looked at Beka and nodded his head. "Not really surprising and you look tired, so you go and rest, and I'll try and get something working around here, like environmental controls, it's freezing in here," he complained.

"It is?" Beka checked, she hadn't noticed.

Harper put his hand up to her forehead. "You don't have a temperature, so you must be crazy," Harper smirked. "Yes, it is cold," he confirmed rubbing his hands together.

"Well maybe you should wear more than just a T-shirt and pants down here," Beka mocked as she turned to leave. "Want me to get you a jacket? Hat and gloves?" Beka continued to tease as she left the engine room.

Harper just shook his head as he got back to work, and the sparks soon flew again, providing some heat in the meantime.

* * *

Harper needed a break, he had been working now for nearly four hours straight and his stomach was growling. It wasn't until he reached the main section of the ship that he first heard the sound of Beka being sick, so he quickened his pace to reach the bathroom.

"Beka?" Harper called from outside the door. "Are you ok?" Harper was greeted by the sound of Beka heaving again and he grimaced, he was never good with people being sick.

There was silence for a few minutes before the door unlocked and a weary looking Beka appeared, caked in perspiration, Harper went to her side seeing she was a little unsteady on her feet.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me that you were really sick?" Harper asked, with some concern.

"I could only just make it to the bathroom, you think I could make it down to the engine room?" Beka questioned.

"Ship wide communications?" Harper reminded her.

"Oh yeah," Beka idly said, but it was clear she wasn't totally with it as Harper helped her back to her bunk.

Harper put the blanket over Beka but she pushed it away, she was sweating and groaning as she curled up in a ball. Harper frowned. "Do you want anything?" he asked a little unsure as he knelt by her bed, looking uncertain about what he should be doing to help.

Beka closed her eyes as her hands wrapped themselves around her stomach. "Can you knock me out?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"You think I'm that brave?" Harper tried humour but it failed as Beka rolled over, unable to settle.

Harper moved back and just stood there, not knowing what to do to help Beka, and only just jumped out of the way when she quickly got to her feet again. Following her, Harper ensured she didn't lock the door on the bathroom this time as she once again found herself emptying her stomach. With a frown, Harper attempted to overcome his own dislike of being in the presence of someone being sick, and he moved to Beka's side. She seemed to be making good friends with the bowl of the toilet as Harper gently rubbed her back, and moved the stray strands of her hair away from her face.

Coming up for air, Beka looked exhausted and pale as she gingerly moved back and leant against the wall, Harper joined her by her side. They both sat in silence, and Harper put his arm around his sick friend for comfort. "I'm not an expert, but I think you have food poisoning, I've had this a few times," Harper offered, and it brought back memories of painful times.

"I've never felt like this before, it hurts, my whole body just hurts," Beka moaned as she tiredly leaned into Harper's hold.

"I know," Harper assured her calmly, knowing the aches were pretty intensive. "It's your body trying to rid itself of the poisoned food, Trance explained it all once but I forget now, all I remember is her telling me that she could do very little until the body had cleansed itself."

Beka moved back towards the toilet and spent some more minutes getting to know it better. Harper waited until she seemed to be over straining herself, and encouraged her to sit back again, all the while continuing to rub her back. "I wish I could do more," Harper said feeling helpless.

"Can you help me back to my bunk? I just want to sleep," Beka requested, and Harper helped her to her feet. Slowly they returned to Beka's quarters, and Harper was glad to see her close her eyes and go quickly to sleep.

Moving to the common area, Harper found a bowl and then a glass or water before returning to Beka's quarters. Placing the bowl on the floor by the bed, he put the water on the side, checking Beka was asleep he quietly left her quarters and returned to the engine room. Before he resumed work, Harper sorted out an open channel on the comms so he could hear when Beka next woke up.

Harper felt tired and cold suddenly, having not yet fixed the environmental controls, due to various other systems demanding his more immediate attention. He had lost his appetite long ago on seeing Beka being so sick, so with a sigh he set to work and hoped that Beka would be over the worse soon.

Just over an hour had passed before Harper heard the sounds of Beka being sick again, and he hoped that she had seen the bowl he had left in her quarters in time. Quickly finishing the job he had been working on deep inside the engines, Harper removed himself from the tight spot, and got to his feet. Hurrying to Beka's quarters, Harper soon discovered that she had found the bowl, but also half the deck as well.

"Aw man," Harper complained, looking at Beka who appeared to have passed out again.

Picking up the bowl Harper set about cleaning it up, before returning to her room to clean up the floor. The smell was starting to affect him, he was beginning to feel sick himself but he knew it was only a reactionary feeling of sickness. Wiping the rest of the floor clean, Harper checked Beka was safe and then once satisfied that she was, he returned to the common area.

Taking a seat Harper rubbed his head, feeling exhausted and he tried to will himself to make some food, but the very thought of food turned his own stomach, so instead he moved to his bunk and decided to try and catch a few hours sleep.

* * *

Harper was woken up a couple of hours later, and for a moment he just lay on his bunk as he heard Beka being sick again. Only this time it wasn't being broadcast over the comms, she had made it back to the bathroom that was practically next door to where he lay. It had now been nearly eight hours since she had first felt sick, whatever form of food poisoning Beka had; she had it bad he guessed.

Finally he moved from his bunk and went to check on Beka, who had been silent for a few minutes. Harper arrived to see she had passed out on the floor, and that same floor looked like a war zone, the mess and smell almost made Harper pass out too.

"Beka!" Harper complained, knowing it wasn't her fault as he quickly moved to her side and dragged her out of the mess. Grabbing a face cloth, he dampened it under the tap, before attempting to clean Beka's face.

The coldness of the water brought Beka around, and she tiredly looked back at Harper with appreciation. "Hey," she managed.

"Hey," Harper returned with less enthusiasm. "I thought the deal was I am the one who gets sick, and you look after me?" Harper questioned lightly, his concern showing through in patches.

"I thought you needed the practice, see what it's like to treat the sick and needy," Beka croaked, managing a smile that soon turned into a grimace as she held her painful sides.

"Thanks," Harper returned flatly. "How am I doing so far?" he asked with a frown.

"You're doing just great," Beka smiled through the pain, as he finished cleaning her face.

"Better get you back to your room," Harper stated, as he pulled her to her feet and took Beka's weight. "It looks like you've cleared everything from your stomach at least," he noted brightly as they slowly walked back.

"The pain, Harper, that's the worse," Beka grimaced, absently holding her stomach.

"Well, it just so happens that thanks to my incredible track record in the being sick stakes, and now it seems you have emptied everything that could possibly be in one person's stomach, I might finally be able to give you something to help," Harper said with some joy. "It's a little trick Trance taught me."

"Really?" Beka checked through clenched teeth.

"Trust me, this will help and it'll be from the most unlikeliest of sources," Harper motioned as he helped Beka onto her bunk, this time she didn't refuse the blanket that Harper tucked around her, as she began to shiver a little from the fever that was building. "Don't move," Harper mocked as he quickly left Beka's quarters.

Beka curled up and tried to get comfortable against the pain, no matter what position she found herself in, the aches persistently hurt. Never before had she been this sick and weak, it was unheard of for her. Beka felt the worst she had ever felt, and was scared by the pain she was experiencing.

Harper returned moments later with a beaker and he offered it to her. Beka immediately refused, and looked away, not even being able to consider consuming something without feeling sick again.

"Come on Beka, this will line your stomach, and give you energy you need to get rid of those aches, trust me, I know this first hand," Harper insisted. "Nothing in the medical area can help you right now, but this stuff can," he stated confidently.

"Just leave me to die," Beka moaned as her stomach flipped, making her feel queasy once again, as the aches built up and continued to torment her.

"Don't say that!" Harper snapped as he put the beaker down, and moved quickly beside her. "I know it hurts, I've had food poisoning enough to know this. The pains don't stop until you stop being sick, and you'll only stop being sick when your stomach is settled, so you need to line it with something, and this drink is that something!" Harper stressed with determination. "Trust me, I'm trying to help you here," he now lightly pleaded as he moved a stray strand of hair from Beka's clammy forehead.

"And can you be so sure that's what I've got?" Beka returned sharply, allowing her pain and uncertainty rule her emotions. "I could be dying, I've never felt this ill, Harper!" she stated as she held her stomach, and the pain seemed to increase. "You don't know what this feels like, you couldn't know!" she yelled, her eyes closed to the pain.

"You're not dying, Beka!" Harper said with angered frustration, "Don't you think that I've watched enough people die from illness to know that?" he added bluntly to try and get through to her. "I've also had food poisoning enough times to be confident that this is what you have," Harper then sighed as he caught his own emotions, a little calmer he continued speaking. "I'm just trying to help, and you don't have to have the stupid drink if you don't want to," Harper dismissed, before leaving the room without another word.

Beka looked over to where Harper had been stood, suddenly feeling guilty for her outburst, and she managed to sit up. Tentatively she took the beaker that Harper had left her, to find it was just some flat Sparky cola, and she turned her nose up at it. Shaking her head wondering what she had done to be lumbered with Harper as her nursemaid, at a time she was feeling the worst she ever had.

At that moment, she felt even worse than after her flash withdrawal; she felt she coped better with the withdrawals than this incessant pain in her gut that she felt now. Curling up, Beka closed her eyes and hoped that she could sleep the rest of the pain away.

* * *

Harper was cleaning the bathroom and had been for the past half-hour, on his hands and knees disinfecting the area to ensure the next time Beka used the facilities she wouldn't pick up another bug. Finally satisfied that he had covered the affected area, Harper sat on the floor and rested his back against the wall. He hadn't meant to just walk out on Beka, but her words just made him so mad for the moment, that he had needed to be somewhere else. He knew she had food poisoning and he knew how painful it was, but to ask to die, that was a shot below the belt for him, even if she was just idly talking.

After all he had seen, all he had experienced, in that one second Harper had wanted to show Beka all the suffering he had seen others experience. Complaining about the pain in her gut just left Harper shaking his head with controlled anger, the Magog infestation was all he had to say to that. Harper took some controlled breaths to calm down, he knew that he was also guilty of maybe over reacting now, so he slowly got to his feet and numbly tidied the cleaning supplies away. All the while he was remembering all too well how his patience had never stuck around long when he had been asked to look after the sick, back on Earth.

Harper decided it was probably about time that he returned to the engine room. He needed to try and catch up with repairs, especially to the environmental controls as he felt the cold air. On the way there, Harper checked on Beka and saw that she was asleep again, and that she hadn't even touched the drink he had brought her. Harper soon left Beka's quarters, trying hard not to be offended, and rubbed his hands together to get some warmth back into them.

Reaching the engine room, he paused for a moment and listened carefully. Something was close by, something outside the hull, and with the engines and systems practically dead on the Maru, noise or rather vibrations, from other spacecraft was easier to pick up and Harper raced to the cockpit hoping it was just his paranoia playing games. As Harper reached the cockpit however, he saw the looming sight of another vessel. It seemed to be another cargo carrier, and a much larger version than the Maru.

"Scavengers, just freaking great," Harper's patience was quickly waning, as the ship rocked slightly with the other vessel clamping itself to the Maru's hull. Harper instinctively reached for his gauss gun and ran back towards Beka's quarters.

Beka was still sleeping and Harper felt he had little choice but to lock her quarters from the outside, he didn't want her waking up to find her ship had been overrun by greedy bastards. Harper took a deep breath, convincing his common sense that the now clean bowl would suffice that he had placed back into her quarters, should she have another emergency.

Harper moved quietly through the Maru's corridors, listening intently for any signs of people boarding. His nerves were jaded with his own lack of sleep and food, and Harper suddenly wished that he was now dead as he realised he was all that came between the Maru being taken by scavengers, or remaining in Beka's possession.

"I detect two life signs, boss," a voice was heard suddenly from the direction of the air lock.

Harper froze and pressed himself into a small alcove in the Maru's corridor. Gun armed and ready, Harper waited, hardly taking a breath as he did so. Today, he decided at that point, had been pretty crappy.

Harper heard two voices, not bad odds he considered at two to one. They were slowly making progress towards his position, and Harper waited for the best moment to throw them the welcoming party. Finally, hearing their feet against the decking that led to his hiding place, Harper stepped out and fired a couple of warning shots.

"Welcome, now go!" Harper yelled as he fired some more shots.

The two scavengers took cover and armed their own weapons. "You are dead in space, you are no match for us."

"We have reinforcements arriving any second," Harper called out with confidence. "Do you really want to be here when the Commonwealth flagship turns up to blast your ass out of the skies?"

"You're bluffing!" a voice returned.

"Sure I am, why else would I say that," Harper responded sarcastically. "Question is, you now have to decide if that was also a bluff," he smiled to himself, he was fine with verbal assaults, it was the physical ones he struggled with.

A couple of shots fired past Harper's position and he almost felt the heat as they past him and hit the bulkhead beside him. "Hey, no damaging the merchandise!" Harper yelled back angrily.

Harper moved forward and fired a couple more shots in the scavenger's direction, finding a new place to hide at the same time. "Turn around, and get off this ship!" Harper yelled again. He could hear the intruders talking, but couldn't make out the words as he edged forward slowly. Entering the serving area with caution, Harper remained aware of the wider space that had fewer hiding places.

Ducking behind the counter, Harper finally caught sight of one of the intruders and saw he was human looking, the other he couldn't see clearly but he looked more alien in appearance. Harper moved from the counter and behind some storage boxes, the same boxes, he realised, that Beka had asked him countless times since they started this trip to move back to the cargo bay, but he was thankful now that he had avoided that job.

Suddenly the boxes that Harper was hiding behind exploded before him, the intruders had hit it with a pulse charger that sent Harper flying backwards into the nearby bulkhead, and he lost his grip on his weapon. Dazed slightly, it took Harper a moment to focus and then he saw the two intruders standing over him, smiling broadly with their own guns now raised and pointing at him.

"Can I give you a guided tour?" Harper offered mockingly, before he felt himself being hauled to his feet by the larger human looking male.

"Start by showing us to your other crewmember," he snarled at Harper, and the engineer was reminded of Beka.

"She's sick, please, leave her be, take me, take whatever else you want but leave her, please?" Harper requested, already knowing it was a lost cause.

"We want the ship, you want us to leave her in space?" the man asked, in a teasing tone.

Harper considered his response and saw the flaw to his own request. "OK, well, maybe I would prefer you take her then, on this occasion, and circumstance," Harper compromised, with far too many words than was needed.

The man holding Harper simply responded with a right hook across Harper's face, sending him back to the floor. Harper landed heavily, and the breath was knocked from him for a second, as the whole of his left cheek seemed to be on fire for the moment. However, on landing, Harper saw that his gauss gun was now just centimetres away from his right hand. Without a second thought he grabbed it and fired it towards the intruders, watching as the shocked looking human male fell, a hole in his chest that determined that he was probably no longer alive.

Harper simply stared as the man fell, ungraciously to the deck and his alien looking sidekick seemed to also be caught in the moment, but soon looked to recover. Harper dashed behind the counter as the alien friend took his first shot at Harper, missing him by millimetres.

"You will die for that!" the sidekick insisted strongly as he continued to fire at Harper's position.

Debris landed all over Harper as the alien destroyed everything around Harper's position; the food storage area took the worst hits, as the weapon noise was unrelenting. Harper had to move quickly to stay one step ahead, and he was running out of hiding places in such a confined space. Harper finally dashed forward but his luck had run out, as he had run directly into the alien's path, and the alien had made the right choice to stand in Harper's way.

Harper slowly stood to full height and stared at his would be assassin, and then he put his own gun down on the floor before slowly raising his arms in surrender. Taking a deep breath he waited for the inevitable, and on hearing the weapons fire Harper braced himself for the impact whilst closing his eyes. The pain soon arrived only it was in his shin, not his chest as he expected. He was still alive he realised but he still fell backwards crying out in pain. Harper landed heavily on his back, his eyes still clenched shut, as he found his thoughts wondering if this was going to be a long painful execution.

After a few seconds the silence was almost as bad as the waiting, and Harper slowly opened his eyes as he tried to cancel out the pain in his leg. What he saw surprised him, the alien was also on the floor and looking like he had come off worse in the exchange, although Harper couldn't figure out how, until he caught sight of Beka clinging to the bulkhead, holding a recently fired gun.

"Beka?" Harper called out between breaths.

"Harper, are you ok?" Beka called out with concern.

"Yeah," Harper grimaced as he pulled himself up, and used the counter to support his weight as he got to his feet. Hopping around the counter, Harper checked on Beka. "You?" he finally asked seeing she was shaking, he put a comforting hand on her upper arm.

"Don't ever lock me in my room again," Beka warned with heavy breaths, and then although exhausted, she offered support to Harper, helping him to the door. "Open comms to enemy vessel," Beka barked reaching a console, as she took some of Harper's weight. "I have your two loser friends down here, I'm going to leave them in the airlock, you'll have five minutes to pick them up before I open fire on your vessel."

"Beka," Harper attempted to speak up but the enemy responded, cutting him off.

"Is that so?" a voice returned. "All my scans indicate none of your systems are actually working right now."

"Right now, that's true, but there's two of us, one of you," Beka returned confidently. "And in five minutes, our status will be a different story, yours wont be."

Beka looked at Harper and he shrugged, putting weight on his injured leg he found it was not too badly damaged and pulled away from Beka. "I'll see what I can rig up for you, boss," Harper stated with urgency as he partly hopped his way back to the engine room, leaving Beka leaning against the bulkhead wearily to gather up her strength.

After a few heavy breaths, Beka moved over to the bodies of the intruders and began to pull the first guy along the deck, thankful that they were at least on the same level as the air lock. It took her much longer than she had wanted, but she finally managed to pull the two guys into the area, but no one from the vessel above had come to claim them and it was well over the five minutes by the time she was done.

"Harper," Beka called out on ship wide.

"I can give you a warning laser shot, and only one at that, I can only get the PDL's to about thirty percent," Harper offered, sounding down with what he could offer.

"Good enough, target their hull, shake them up a bit," Beka ordered and within seconds she felt the Maru shake as the enemy vessel took the hit. Beka moved in front of the air lock, with her weapon drawn.

Finally a lone man came down to the cargo area, and without a word he collected his crewmates. "This isn't over, we'll be keeping an eye on you, lady, I don't give up this easily, not when you kill and injure my own crew," he sneered at her. "I have friends, and they will hear about this attack."

"Funny, considering you boarded us, and you didn't seem to care so much when you were trying to kill my own crew," Beka stated with her gun aimed. "But by all means stick around, invite your friends for when the Andromeda Ascendant turns up, it should be along shortly."

"So we've been told," the man spoke, but with doubt. "You should just hope that you're still here to see it arrive."

"Get out of here!" Beka ordered abruptly, feeling deep inside that she was losing her adrenaline rush, and her momentum was fading fast.

The lone man left the air lock and moments later the intruder's ship detached the clamp. Beka moved slowly to a console and allowed her weakened state to clearly show, having hidden her illness from the intruder successfully. Checking what sensors were still available to the Maru, Beka could determine that the other vessel had at least moved away but not much more, she could only guess that they intended to observe as warned.

"Harper," Beka now spoke with quick breaths, her energy draining. "We need something and soon," she ordered.

"On it, I'm on it," Harper returned tiredly.

Beka decided to say no more as she returned to her quarters, deciding that she just needed to lie down. She was trying desperately hard to ignore the sudden urge she had to empty the nothingness that was in her stomach. Beka really hated feeling ill, and particularly being sick, and she reluctantly pushed her aching and painful body towards the bathroom in defeat.

* * *

Harper felt his eyelids closing and he could do little to stop them as sleep tried to take him, but his nano welder falling from his hand and clattering against the deck soon woke Harper up again with a start. Having dropped off for a few seconds, Harper knew he had to shake his head to clear the looming need to sleep that he couldn't afford to take, not with the ship so vulnerable and having already been boarded once.

Deep down he also knew that he should check on Beka, she was ill and needed his support, but there was some mad men out in space ready to blow them to smithereens unless he could make the Maru less of a target. Harper was torn, he wanted to be by Beka's side, doing the friend thing like he knew she would do for him, making her pain at least feel less but he had responsibilities to the ship. Without power he really wasn't helping Beka if he allowed the ship to be taken from them by hostile people, or let conditions on board get any worse for the two of them.

Another thing tore at Harper's conscience, he shouldn't have killed that man. Harper knew that and now regretted his actions, and it had just made a bad situation worse. Harper knew however that he would probably be dead right now if he hadn't acted like he did. Lack of sleep and food was beginning to affect him, and he knew this mainly because he was feeling remorse and regret, and that was always a bad sign.

Pulling himself out of the small space, Harper got to his feet and was immediately reminded of the injury to his leg, as he quickly hopped about to try and ease the pain. He wasn't sure how bad it was, only that his pant leg had changed colour, it was now a fetching red and the pain was more of a burning sensation, but still mildly annoying the more he thought about it.

Once again, the logical side of Harper's psyche told him to check it out, to make sure it was clean and that it was no longer bleeding, but time was not allowing him such luxuries to do these things. That now made it three places he should be at once on the Maru and Harper tried not to let the overwhelming panic consume him.

Moving to a console, Harper pressed a few commands and his face lit up as some of the systems came online with some of the power he had scrounged. He was part way done at least, the only trouble was that part only represented about twenty percent of the repairs that he needed to do to get the Maru working again, but it was a start.

"Boss," Harper called out over the comms, but he got no response. With a heavy sigh, born of frustration, concern and tiredness, Harper tried to figure out what to do next, but his heavy eyelids were distracting him as he wavered slightly and held on to the console to stop his body falling asleep again.

The decision was soon taken out of his hands, as the Maru was rocked violently by a fresh explosion that threw Harper forward with such force that he literally flew over the console from where he had been standing. Landing with a sickening thud, and already unconscious, Harper now lay amongst the engine parts he had just been trying to fix, as random pieces of the ship's structure landed around and on top of him where he now lay.

* * *

"Harper?" Beka's weakened voice called out, there was still smoke hanging in the air of the engine room from the impact that had woken her up roughly twenty minutes previously, if she hadn't had the sudden desire to be sick once more, she would have got to the engine room sooner.

Beka had one of her blankets wrapped around her, as she walked along the walkway that ran over and down the middle of the Maru's engines. Perspiration covered her features as she scanned the area, holding tightly to the railing feeling her energy was on vacation, she looked weak and feverish still. Harper hadn't responded to her ship wide comms, and that was what drove her on. Beka was very afraid for her friend and pushed herself to find him, only slightly fearing what she would find.

The repairs Harper had successfully managed so far had provided enough juice for her to fire all they had, which was very little, in a volley of warning shots that had seemingly scared off the scavengers once and for all. For now, she felt they were safe, but Beka knew it wasn't going to be for much longer and she needed Harper to get her ship back into some form of operation now she had drained the power again. Word had got around quick amongst the scavengers and she knew that something bigger and nastier could already be on its way.

"Harper?" She called out again before finally looking down, and to the side. Beka saw a sight that caused her to freeze for a moment. It was Harper, and he was very still and pale, and under a lot of debris. "Harper!" she cried out and with the blanket still wrapped around her, she navigated the railing and jumped down to his side.

"Harper?" she gently shook him, he felt cold to the touch and there was blood, but in Beka's confused and ill state she couldn't probably determine his injuries. Frantically she started to move the loose pieces of debris that had landed on top of him.

"Beka?" Harper murmured slowly coming around. "Are we in Kansas yet?" he asked wearily.

Beka half smiled, he still had his humour, a good sign she considered with relief. "Not exactly, but we're still in a pretty bad situation," she shrugged. "But good news, I got rid of our new friends," she said in an upbeat fashion then frowned. "But we're out of juice again, sorry," she offered sadly.

"That's great," Harper grimaced as he tried to help Beka remove some of the rubbish that had landed around him. "Ow," he complained as his face creased up.

"What is it?" Beka asked concerned.

With his face still showing pain, Harper shrugged. "Just about everything," he offered. "Note to self, flying is not cool, especially when its from that console over there to this hard surface," he complained as he finally managed to sit up. "Tell me the situation, you said our new friends have gone?"

"Yeah, but I used all the power you had put back into the systems to get rid of them," Beka frowned. "My targeting was a little off, with this fever," Beka attempted to explain but Harper put his hand on her arm.

"It's ok, Beka, you did good, considering," Harper offered with a brief smile, a relieved one at that. "We're just back to dead as a dodo status," Harper looked genuinely deflated by the news.

"Hate to do this to you sport," Beka shrugged, seeing the exhaustion and the pain in her friends expression, there was a concerning deep gash just above his right ear that stained his hair with blood. "But we have to get this ship fixed," she conceded, not even having the energy to find a med kit to assist her friend. "Where do we start?" Beka asked, needing to focus on the more immediate threat.

"You're kidding," Harper said with concern. "Take a look at yourself, you should rest."

"We both should rest," Beka returned. "But communications have gone down, so I have no idea when the Andromeda will get here, if we rest, we're as good as dead."

Harper looked down, and then took a deep breath. "We best get started then," he resigned himself to the inevitable. "You sure you can do this? You don't look too good."

"Harper, if you can, I can, just don't look in a mirror anytime soon," Beka suggested strongly with a smile. "Just tell me what I can do."

"First, please," Harper grimaced as he slowly crawled over to where he had been working before the last explosion. "Drink this," Harper busied himself with opening a can of Sparky Cola, finding a clean enough mug. He then dug deep into his tool belt and pulled out an emergency ration of sugar that he always carried.

"Sugar?" Beka questioned the ration in Harper's belt.

"Energy kick," Harper stated, but saw that Beka still looked unconvinced. "Hey, sometimes when you're deep in a conduit you really don't want to have to crawl out when all you need is a quick fix energy boost," Harper explained as he concentrated on pouring the cola into the mug. Then he poured the sugar in, watching as the sparkle of the fizz soon died down.

"What are you doing?" Beka had to ask.

"Getting rid of the fizz, won't do your stomach any good like that," Harper stated before stirring the drink to get the full effect of the sugar reaction to the soda. "Now, this time, drink this and no argument, make sure you sip it, don't gulp."

"Harper, I hate Sparky," Beka turned her nose up at the offering.

"This is no longer Sparky, Beka, this is the drink of the gods, this will be the best thing you have tasted ever, trust me," Harper half smiled with a genuine enough air to get Beka's confidence, as she took the mug. "It's the best thing you can have right now, it'll line your stomach and give you the energy boost that you need."

Beka took a deep breath and began to take small sips of the drink, after a few sips her expression seemed to totally change. "Wow," she exclaimed and took a few more eager sips.

"Slowly," Harper warned.

"This is great, Harper," Beka enthused as she rapidly took more sips, it was just like Harper had described, the best thing she had ever drunk. After nearly twelve hours of being sick, and generally feeling like she would never eat or drink again, this fantastic drink arrives, something she now truly adored and savoured. What's more, it wasn't making her feel the least bit nauseous.

"What did the Harper tell you?" Harper smirked as he wiped the blood from his eyes; that had trickled down from a cut at the top of his head.

"Wish I had a drink to make you feel better," Beka frowned, looking at her beaten friend.

"I have Sparky," Harper smiled as he opened another stashed can, and took some eager gulps. "I have all I need to make me feel better."

"This stuff," Beka had nearly drunk the whole mug full that Harper had given her, and it had given her a new lease of life, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. "It's just amazing, and its just flat Sparky Cola," she said with surprise.

"The basic elements of Cola used to be a medicine, on Earth, when it was first invented," Harper explained as he crawled into a small space to resume repairs. "Only back then, it also contained a pretty addictive hard drug too, but in your case, take out the fizz and you have all the elements you need right now."

"Well, Doctor Harper," Beka grinned, feeling a little bit brighter as she moved to a console. "What do you want me to do?"

"Please, before anything else, get the environmental controls back online," Harper complained as he involuntarily shivered on cue as he worked.

"You're still cold?" Beka asked, and remembered how cold he was to her touch when she had found him, she heard Harper moan in response. "Glad I have this fever then," she smiled and began to start work on sorting the heating, or lack of it, problem out.

* * *

Two hours passed and between the odd comment and act of frustration when the systems would not respond on cue, Beka and Harper continued to work, engrossed in their own personal battles with the Maru systems.

Harper took a deep breath as he pushed himself up to a standing position, blinking his eyes for a moment to stop the wave of dizziness, as he moved to a console and keyed in some basic commands. Beka looked over, she was now sat in an alcove with wires surrounding her as she set about some simple repairs, the environmental controls had eluded her and she had been encouraged by Harper to fix some of the other systems for the moment.

"Anything?" Beka called out hopefully.

"I have propulsion back on line, just no power," Harper indicated without looking up from the console. "I'm going to jack in," he announced and fell to his knees to sit beside the console, retrieving his link cable.

"Propulsions good," Beka noted, trying to remain positive. Her head was demanding sleep, but Beka fought it, and her added fever made her feel even worse. A few times she had felt nauseous, but that's all it remained, a feeling, and she felt that was at least an improvement on actually being sick.

Beka glanced over as Harper's eyes closed and he entered the VR matrix of the Maru, he had been pretty quiet for the past two hours and that was never a good sign. Now he looked so peaceful just sat there and she could finally take a good look at the many bumps, bruises and cuts he was sporting, and knew that they had both had a pretty rough few hours she considered, she was amazed he was still able to work.

Beka looked upwards, to rest her tired eyes, needing a small break from the tedium of trying to re-route the circuits she was working on. Deep down, with honesty, Beka knew she desperately needed to rest. She was weak, and couldn't rely on the Sparky medicine for much longer, she needed to start to eat and she most definitely needed to sleep. Looking once again at Harper, Beka felt guilty for knowing that she wouldn't be able to do much more for the ship, and she wondered how much longer Seamus could continue.

The Maru was not a safe place to be right now, and that was the dilemma, they could not afford to rest. Beka knew this and it was all that kept her eyes opened and her mind focused to that point. Beka caught movement and saw Harper jerk, before he slumped slowly to the side. With a frown, not recalling having seen that happen before Beka crawled forward with concern.

"Harper?" Beka touched his arm, and discovered he was freezing, his skin almost ice-cold. "Harper!" Beka stated with more force, and lightly shook him as her concern grew. "Come on, come back to reality, Harper!" Beka was almost screaming now.

With another jerk, Harper's eyes snapped open and he just stared at Beka, confusion evident across his expression. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure, but you didn't look right," Beka admitted, calming down only slightly.

"Strangest thing, I was realigning the power servers and my mind, it just went blank and everything just flashed like a bright light," Harper recounted with short breaths.

"Maybe we both need to take a short break?" Beka suggested.

Harper nodded his head. "I'm starving," he agreed. "But I've managed to find some reserve power, so we can at least use propulsion to move from these co-ordinates once we're done with the food thing."

"Yeah, and then we just hope that would be attackers don't have a quick look around when they fail to find us at these co-ordinates," Beka teased and smiled at the image.

Harper found a smile as he accepted Beka's help in getting to his feet. "I feel like crap, Beka, this nightmares going to end right?" he asked as they walked towards the common area.

"Yeah, the Andromeda will arrive soon and we'll be laughing about this in a few hours," Beka put her arm around Harper.

"Looks like the Sparky is working," Harper observed, seeing a bit of life about Beka again.

Beka nodded her head. "Other than the desperate need for sleep, I'm feeling better, the aches have died down."

"So you no longer think you're dying?" Harper asked as he moved to the recently destroyed food store and tried to find something still in one piece, that was also quick and easy to prepare.

Beka took a seat seeing Harper had taken the lead to prepare the food for them. "No, ok, so I over reacted a bit," Beka offered, with a touch of embarrassment. Harper didn't speak as he found two cartons and began to prepare the food they contained. "Look, I'm sorry, I know my reaction caused you to walk out, but I was not thinking straight, I just let my pain get the better of my judgement," she offered and was suddenly caught by the tantalising smell of chicken soup.

"It's ok, I'm just not a good nurse maid," Harper said quietly as he kept an intent eye on the food he was heating up, his back to Beka as he spoke.

"You're great, Harper, honestly, I would not have got through any of this if you hadn't been there," Beka argued. "And you had all that other stuff going on, the repairs and the intruders, it can't have been easy," Beka acknowledged.

"They've destroyed pretty much all of our food supplies," Harper casually observed.

"You couldn't have commenced battle with them somewhere else?" Beka mocked.

"I could have maybe let them shoot me some more?" Harper teased. "Then at least the food would have been saved," he smiled.

"Remember that for next time," Beka said, as a mock order.

Harper poured the soup into bowls and quietly brought them over to the table, and took a seat. "We should eat quickly, then see if we can get this ship shifted as far as we can from this area," Harper gestured, and saw Beka agree with a nod of her head, before they both took a couple of spoonfuls of the soup. "Don't rush though," Harper warned watching her eat for a moment, and remembering her illness.

"How can I be quick and not rush?" Beka questioned with amusement.

Harper had nearly already finished his serving, and he quickly smiled. "You're still recovering from what I can only guess was pretty bad food poisoning, so take your time, I can go ahead and start things up, so I'll rush, and you take your time," he corrected his earlier order.

"Ok, boss," Beka mocked; she then frowned as she saw Harper eating and not savouring the food, but it wasn't any different to how he normally ate she considered. "Harper, why did I upset you when I claimed I wanted to die, I mean you know that was just the illness speaking, right? I didn't at any point actually want to die," she offered.

"You should just be careful about what you say," Harper stated without emotion, and moved away from the table to put his now empty bowl on the side. "I've heard too many people say that, and they actually had reason to mean it," he paused. "Usually it was a request that meant," Harper hesitated. "It just meant that they were asking us to do the deed," he simply finished, without further explanation but he was clearly troubled.

"Harper," Beka stopped him before he left the area, he stopped and just looked at her, waiting for her to speak. "I'm sorry, ok?" she offered awkwardly.

"I know," Harper confirmed briefly, looking away, and then quickly leaving the area, heading towards the piloting station.

Beka put her spoon down, annoyed with herself knowing that Harper wasn't allowing her to see how upset he had been by her thoughtlessness. The smell of the soup however soon drew her back, and she started to eat once again, glad that she was able to.

* * *

Harper moved quickly around the cockpit area as he adjusted all the settings to ensure maximum power. Looking over to the door he wondered what was keeping Beka, he knew he had told her to eat slowly but it had been nearly twenty minutes since he had left her. With a frown he moved back towards the middle of the ship, and on entering the serving area he found Beka with her head on the counter fast asleep, the exhaustion had finally caught up with her.

"Beka," Harper moaned more to himself as he wearily stepped over. He checked her forehead and found she was burning up, Harper knew she was out for the count when she didn't stir as he attempted to move her to her quarters.

It wasn't that he blamed her for falling asleep, he knew if he shut his eyes for more than a few seconds he'd be in a similar situation. It was just he wasn't good at dealing with people, at least not like this, it a job he always tried to avoid back on Earth and he'd never had the skills or patience required.

How he wished that Trance or even Rommie was on hand to take these nursing duties away, the amount of times Beka got ill, why did he have to pick one of those rare times to be stuck on a ship with her?

Harper hated how useless he felt as he picked up Beka's exhausted body and took her back to her quarters. Laying her down on the bunk he checked that she was on her side, as she slept, but noticing the fevered perspiration getting worse. Harper knew he should get a cooling cloth, as it's what she would be doing for him right now if the roles were reversed.

Harper moved back through the ship and retrieved the cloth, now being able to compensate for the limp he had in his step and still move swiftly. His mind was focused and he was able to block out his own pains, Harper returned to Beka's side, kneeling beside her bed, he gently bathed Beka's face with cooling water, although his movement was jerky and lacked grace.

Harper cursed himself as he almost drowned Beka's face with the next round of cooling water, soaking her pillow, and he quickly used his hand to wipe away some of the excess water from around her eyes and move her head away from the forming wet patch on the pillow. He would have laughed at his own efforts, had the situation not been so intense at that time.

"Sorry, Beka," Harper nervously offered and was surprised to see her reddened eyes open, then he was even more surprised when her hand came up and rested on the back of his neck, drawing him in closer. "Beka," Harper said calmly as he tried to pull out of her hold but it was surprisingly strong, as her other hand came up and clasped with the first one, drawing his head even closer to her. "Beka," Harper tried again to snap her out of her sleepy daze, before ducking his head down and out of the iron grip.

Harper put the cloth back into the small bowl of water he had by her bed, and with his attention on that he didn't see Beka's arms once again come out and wrap themselves once more around his neck, drawing him back even closer to her than before.

"Beka!" Harper's patience was now being tested as he snapped at her, this time finding it hard to duck out of the hold, he was too close to her now, and to move his head at all would probably result in head butting Beka.

"Come on," Beka murmured and was clearly caught up some dream, her eyes closing and clearly Beka had no idea what she was doing.

"Beka, your delirious, snap out of it!" Harper now panicked as he struggled to release her annoyingly strong hold on him, he didn't want to hurt Beka but he was beginning to think it might be the only way. Harper tried to use his own arms to pull her hold away from him, but he was in no position to get a good leverage, he felt trapped as he strained to keep some distance between their faces.

Beka's hands now dug into his skin around his neck as she clung to him with determination, and one hand started to physically grab his data port and Harper was clearly uncomfortable. He had a natural nervousness whenever someone was close to his port and right now, he did not want to do any sharp movements whilst Beka's hold was getting fiercer around it.

"Ow, Beka, ow!" Harper now offered as her nails made their presence known to him, imbedding themselves into the base of his neck, and the surrounding area. Harper could also feel her rings against his port, sending involuntary shivers down his spine, freezing him momentarily with fear.

"Please, Beka, snap out of this!" he stated loudly feeling unable to do anything, and was now very concerned at Beka's lack of awareness to what she was doing.

Then to Harper's horror Beka moved closer to him still, her lips now closer to his own and he looked upwards with new fear, he put his hands on her shoulders in a last ditch effort to push his face away. "Beka!" he yelled, but before he could do anything more Beka was kissing him, he struggled hard to push her off but soon stopped when her fingers wrapped around his port interface at the base of his neck, and then he found that he was almost suffocating in the kiss.

The continued movement of her fingers over the port sent small shivers of pain through him as Beka tugged at the metallic disk, and he froze, now simply allowing her to keep kissing him, but not returning the kiss in any form. Harper found himself thinking that this was not how he used to imagine it being like during those early days on board the Maru when he had only just met Beka, this just felt so wrong now.

Beka's hand continued to toy with the data port as she kept up the kiss, each slight tug at the port continued to send small pulses of pain to Harper's already thumping head. Harper just closed his eyes, he tried to control his breathing and just hoped this would be over soon.

Suddenly Beka's eyes opened and she froze, and Harper used the moment to push himself away, scrambling back towards the wall, and his hand instinctively moving to his port. His breathing was frantic and hurried, his movement showed that Harper was clearly distressed.

"Seamus?" Beka spoke with confusion, but Harper soon darted from the room without a word. Beka laid back in her bunk, unable to comprehend what she had just done, was she kissing Harper? Moment's earlier it had been Bobby, she was sure of it, but that look of pure terror in Harper's expression confirmed her worse fears.

Although still tired, Beka grabbed her blanket knowing that she had to speak to Harper. Beka had to try and explain, but she didn't quite know what she was going to say. Beka only knew she couldn't just ignore what she had seen in his expression, a betrayal of trust.

"Harper?" she called out as she tried to find him, reaching the crew quarters and looking around the bunks, it had felt as though suddenly the Maru was as big as the Andromeda in her fevered state.

"Don't," Harper's voice returned, sitting on the top bunk hiding from her it seemed.

"Harper," Beka said calmly, trying to sound composed. "I don't know what just happened but," Beka couldn't say any more.

"Just forget about it," Harper said quickly, clearly not wanting to discuss the issue.

"Please, don't hide from me," Beka requested sadly. "Come on, don't do this to yourself."

"I'm fine, I just need to sleep, I've not slept in over a day, just let me sleep," he returned frantically.

Beka sighed as she sat on the bunk below the one Harper now occupied. If she had the energy, Beka would have climbed the ladder to at least check Harper was physically ok. Now that he was resting it would be a perfect opportunity to clean him up a bit, the grime and blood was not a good look for him.

"Ok, well I'm just going to rest out here too," Beka decided, as she laid out on the bunk she was sitting on.

"Don't be stupid, your quarters are warmer," Harper quietly returned.

"If that's the case, then you should be sleeping in there too, you need the warmth too, I have my fever to keep me warm," Beka returned calmly. "I mean, take a mattress, and sleep on the floor," Beka quickly corrected, not wanting another misunderstanding.

"No," Harper stated firmly.

"Do you need anything?" Beka asked, wanting more of a reaction from Harper.

"No," Harper responded once more. "Beka, just return to your quarters," he requested. "You're sick, you shouldn't be out here."

"Let me see your face," Beka stated. "I'm not moving until you've looked at me and told me that," she said stubbornly.

There was no movement above her for a moment, but finally the springs moved and she saw Harper leaning over, hanging upside down almost.

Harper just stared at Beka for a moment, before finding a brief smile. "Young lady, get to your room right now!" Harper then stated, with mock anger.

Beka couldn't help but smile back at him; it was typical of Harper to just completely change his mood in a blink of an eye. "Yes, sir, Harper, sir!" Beka teased as she sat back up, he was still leaning over the edge and all the blood was rushing to his face. "I'm sorry, once again," Beka sighed. "I make a pretty lousy patient, right?" she grimaced.

"Not as lousy as I make a nurse maid," Harper once again confirmed, as he jumped down from his bunk, careful not to aggravate his injured shin. "I'm sorry I got so freaked, and getting you out of bed when you were finally getting some needed sleep," he offered with regret, as he sat down beside her.

"I don't blame you for being freaked," Beka smirked. "Did I really," she hesitated with disbelief clear in her voice.

"Got the marks to prove it," Harper pulled away the neck of his shirt briefly to reveal the nail marks around his neck.

"Oh my god, Harper," Beka exclaimed clearly distraught. "I'm so sorry!" she pulled the neck of his shirt back further after he let go, so she could see for herself the many fingernail marks she had left, along with red bruised marks where her fingers had gripped him.

Harper soon shirked her away and moved to the exit, adjusting his shirt as he did so. "It's nothing, just some marks," he stated then looked out of the door. "I'm going to fire up the engines."

"Harper, wait," Beka requested, she could see he just wanted to be anywhere else right at that moment. "You have been running around for the past however many hours, look at yourself, at least let me clean up those cuts you have."

"We don't have time for this, Beka," Harper stated, and left the room.

Beka looked upwards with mild frustration, it seemed that no matter what she did she made the situation worse. With a heavy sigh she decided to leave it, and slowly returned to her quarters to catch up on some sleep, if Harper needed her help he'd have to ask, she decided.

* * *

Harper sat in the pilot's chair and finally allowed his tense body to relax slightly, he had managed to move the Maru towards a small moon that orbited a larger planet, hoping it would provide a little bit of a distraction, should any ship scan the sector. They were now some distance from their stranded position, if anyone came looking for them now, they'd have to work to find them, and that was the best Harper could do in the circumstances.

Moving out of the seat, Harper gingerly limped back towards the centre of the ship. All his aches and pains seemed to come alive with every step. He desperately needed to sleep, and not just a little bit, if he didn't rest soon Harper knew he would simply fall down and sleep wherever he landed.

However, knowing he still had a responsibility to Beka, he stopped by her quarters and glanced inside, not wishing to be reminded of what had happened previously, he intended to only check she wasn't sleeping awkwardly or worse. On seeing her, Harper saw that her fever had finally broken, and she seemed to be sleeping soundly, her face was still covered in perspiration but it wasn't so bad.

Tentatively, Harper stepped inside, not wishing to get too close just in case she attacked him again. Taking the cloth he checked the water was still cold, and like the ship, it was. Lightly he wiped Beka's brow, and she seemed to respond to the cooling touch in her sleep as she lightly smiled. Harper couldn't help himself as he smiled as well; she looked so peaceful as she slept now that all the pain and illness had finally passed.

Harper moved away, but as he did so Beka let out of small cry of despair, he turned and saw she was still sleeping. Moving a little closer, cautious of what had happened earlier, Harper put a hand on her arm and gently shook her. "It's ok, just a nightmare," he soothingly said.

Beka murmured an appreciative sound and seemed to settle back into normal sleep. Harper moved away again, and walked back outside the quarters, feeling the cold of the ship and shivering slightly. Beka's quarters were ideally situation to trap warmth, and it was still the warmest place. With her illness, Harper justified to himself the suggestion that he should move his mattress into her quarters, in case she had more nightmares.

It took a good five minutes before Harper was in a position to settle down, as he wrapped the blanket tightly around his body, now sleeping on the floor of Beka's quarters. She seemed to be sleeping more soundly now, so he closed his eyes and finally succumbed to sleep.

* * *

The loud bang woke Beka up with a start, her eyes immediately focusing on the sleeping form of Harper on her floor. With brief confusion she just stared at him, but then heard another noise, but Harper wasn't waking up, even though both sounds seemed to almost rock the ship.

"Harper!" Beka hissed as she tried to shake him awake. "Harper, damn it, wake up," Beka insisted.

Another loud noise jolted the ship enough to cause Beka to fall forward, onto Harper and he finally woke up with a start. "Beka!" he almost yelled in surprise, and instinctively tried to back away as he blindly panicked, but Beka held him to stop his panic and assure him that she was not a threat, trying not to alarm him.

"Harper, something's outside," Beka whispered with urgency and could see it was taking Harper a moment to get his bearings, before he reacted.

"Are they back?" Harper questioned, now composed and still in Beka's hold.

"I don't know," Beka admitted, her attention focused on the noises outside her quarters.

"Could it be the Andromeda?" Harper checked.

"Not with the shaking going on," Beka dismissed. "I know I'm not piloting, but Dylan isn't that bad at docking."

Suddenly a dark shadow appeared, and they were both aware of a presence in the doorway. "Well ain't that sweet, sorry to disturb your fun love birds, but you have a ship I want."

Beka and Harper glanced at each other, not moving from their position, before they stared up a six-foot plus man. He sported battle armour and a gun that would make Tyr envious, and it was aimed right at them.

"Who are you?" Beka demanded.

"I'm the guy that's going to ruin your life," the man spoke. "The name is Tyrone, that's all you need to know," he added. "Now both of you get up, shut up, and don't be heroes, and maybe you will be able to continue your honeymoon."

"We're not," Harper began but Beka soon cut him off.

"We're not going to be any trouble, we're just out for some fun," Beka shrugged innocently.

"Good, good," Tyrone smiled. "Then we can make this nice and easy, I take your ship, for what its worth, and you two might live," he indicated. "So, let me guess, your daddy don't like that boy, so you've run away for some fun?" Tyrone questioned.

"Try my husband doesn't like this boy," Beka played along with a fiendish grin, finally feeling human again after some much-needed sleep. Slowly she got to her feet, keeping her eyes on Tyrone the entire time.

Harper couldn't help but fear the path Beka was taking as he kept his mouth shut and wits about him.

"You know what pretty lady?" Tyrone stepped closer. "I don't much like this boy either, how about I do something about that? Then you and I," he hinted with menace as he aimed the gun at Harper.

"No!" Beka stated firmly.

Tyrone seemed surprised by the brush off, but turned his attention back to Harper. "He doesn't say much, does he?"

"You wouldn't say that if you knew him, but he's not feeling too good, right now," Beka explained, her eyes ordering Harper to remain quiet and let her play the old man along for a bit. "He was hurt by my husband, we only just got away," she gestured to the facial injuries Harper sported. "Please, sir," Beka now stepped closer to the older man. "Let me and him go, you don't want this ship it barely moves."

"I have found nothing of value yet," Tyrone agreed, then once again looked at Harper. "Except your little lady here."

"You stay away from her!" Harper stressed now, getting to his feet and stepping forward, having had enough of the game Beka was playing.

"It's ok, sweetie," Beka put a hand to Harper's chest to stop him advancing any further.

"Darling," Harper said through gritted teeth, careful not to reveal their names to the intruder as he moved in front of Beka with his back to the intruder, and putting himself between them. "We do not stand around and let some crooked small time thief steal our ride!"

Tyrone stepped forward unimpressed by Harper's choice of words. "Care to repeat that little man?" he warned, as he pressed the gun to Harper's back.

"Please, please, he is a little rough around the edges," Beka explained pointedly, staring at Harper to let her do her thing. "No need to let his ignorance distract you." Harper looked away sharply clearly not happy with things, as Beka turned her attention back to Tyrone, as she moved Harper aside and out of the line of fire. "Now, what do I have to do to get you off my ship?" she asked sweetly.

"I can think of plenty," Tyrone smiled expectantly.

"I bet you can," Harper snapped.

"Sweetie," Beka warned towards Harper, then faced Tyrone. With a seductive smile she backed towards her bunk and slowly sat down, her eyes never leaving Tyrone's.

Harper looked on with uncertainty, finding himself surprisingly wondering that if Beka did have those sorts of plans, whether he would want to remain looking on or not, he blinked his eyes and blamed his thoughts on the fact he'd only been awake a few minutes.

"How about," Beka began, with her voice low and suggestive. "A bullet to the head," she quickly snatched a gun from under her pillow and aimed it.

"Darling," Harper said with surprised joy. "You always say the sweetest things," he confirmed as he dashed forward to quickly disarm Tyrone, who surrendered easily enough.

Beka and Harper pushed Tyrone back through the ship. "Now get the hell off my ship, get out of my life and give us both a break, because we deserve one after the day and a half we've had," Beka fumed as they approached the cargo bay.

On entering the cargo bay all hell suddenly broke loose with the sound of gunfire, as waiting crewmen from Tyrone's ship easily ambushed Harper and Beka. Within seconds they were both on the floor, unable to move under the weight of Tyrone's goons.

"Guess we'll have to take that break later in the year," Harper strained to say, his arms feeling as though they were being pulled out of their sockets, with his face practically being pushed into the deck.

"Sweetie, not the time for jokes," Beka remarked, from a similar position.

Their wrists and ankles were bounded together, and both Harper and Beka found they were now hostages on Tyrone's ship, that was still attached to the Maru and taking it back to wherever it was Tyrone came from. Unable to speak due to gags over their mouths, they both just glanced at each other for support.

Beka was concerned, she had at least had the chance to recover a little from her food poisoning, but Harper was still sporting injuries that they just never had the time to even look at. His leg was concerning her the most and the binds around his ankle were clearly aggravating the damage, as Harper continued to absently fidget whilst looking uncomfortable. All she could see was the blood stained material of his pants, and Beka silently curse her own preoccupations for not sparing a few moments to tend to Harper's injuries, no matter how ill she had been, it now seemed selfish of her to not have at least done something.

However, to look at Harper he was at least still conscious and seemingly bright and aware, no signs of fever, and the sleep he had managed to get before the latest disturbance seemed to have done something for his energy levels.

Beka's thoughts were soon broken as Tyrone entered the small room, and she braced herself for the inevitable, why hadn't she listened to Harper's warning about playing this guy along? To her surprise however, he grabbed hold of Harper and pushed him forward, causing the engineer to fall due to his bound ankles, but Tyrone just picked him up and dragged him out of the cell. Beka's muffled protests were ignored, and she was soon left alone.

Pushed to the ground, Harper attempted to break his fall but he landed heavily on his shoulder, as he fell back onto the deck. Looking up now at Tyrone he waited for the big man to determine what was about to happen, and Harper couldn't help but fear the worse.

Tyrone leaned forward and removed the gag from Harper's mouth, seconds later what seemed like gallons of water were thrown over his face, and Harper attempted to drink as much as he could catch.

"So, that lovely lady," Tyrone began. "Do I have to kill you for her, or are you willing to turn the other cheek?"

Harper stared intently at Tyrone. "You'll have to kill me."

"You love her that much?" Tyrone seemed surprised, as he reached down and picked the soaking human up by his wet shirt. Raising his hand he punched Harper across the jaw hard, sending him flying back down and into the bulkhead nearby. "How about now, still love her enough to die for her?"

"Go to hell," Harper returned, his hands still tied and unable to fight back.

"Aw, sweet love," Tyrone crooned, as he mocked Harper, and his three goons laughed at the situation. "Shame, because I fear that if I simply kill you, then your true love will not love me, not ever, she'll stupidly hold some light for you, and your sacrifice for her."

Harper steadied his breathing as he stared back at Tyrone. "You have no idea the trouble you're attracting by keeping us here, by doing this," Harper half smiled.

"I see a bit of confidence in the small man," Tyrone gestured to his goons, as if they were taking notes on human behaviour. "Tell me boy, what do you know that I don't?"

"Other than the fact that you're a freaking nutzo who is messing with the wrong people?" Harper questioned strongly, the more he could keep the man's attention the less attention he would pay to Beka. "Gee, let me think, I know plenty!" he finished.

Tyrone simply stared at Harper, before he slowly moved forward. "Let me guess," Tyrone gestured to his goons and they each took an arm and brought Harper up to his feet. "You've done this whole prisoner thing before, you sound professional."

"You know nothing about me," Harper spat back.

"Oh yes, I can sense it, you know the game," Tyrone grinned maniacally, and moved behind Harper, without warning he grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it up to reveal past scars. "Oh yes, oh yes," Tyrone said with joy. "He's been here before, he's not a stranger to being a prisoner, to being punished, and no doubt it's for his mouth and the rubbish he spouts."

Harper remained silent, his breathing quicker now as he felt the cold air against the skin of his back.

Tyrone let the shirt drop and moved back to face Harper, his face almost touching Harper's nose. "It's been a long time since I've had an experienced prisoner on board," he stated. Harper just stared back at the man, burning his eyes into Tyrone's gaze and taking victory when the taller man looked away first.

"Put him on the wall for now," Tyrone ordered and the goons almost carried Harper to the steel looking wall, untying his wrists and placing each one into a metal cuff. Within seconds Harper found himself hanging by his wrists on the wall, and he mentally attempted to ignore the pain being generated by the position he now found himself in. Closing his eyes Harper thought of better things, like how exactly he was going to maim Tyrone and get him and Beka out of there.

It took Harper a moment to realise that he was no longer the centre of attention, and he snapped his eyes open to see Beka being dragged before the Tyrone. Could this day get any worse, Harper began to feel some despair as he saw Tyrone caress Beka's face, and Harper's anger boiled. Struggling, Harper's wrists almost bled now as he thrashed about to try and loosen the hold on him that the metal cuffs provided.

Beka now stood before Tyrone, she radiated confidence and Harper feared that she might still be delusional, as he stopped struggling and simply watched her, with concern, frustration and guilt that he could do nothing but watch.

"Release your ship to me," Tyrone ordered.

"Never!" Beka snapped back.

Tyrone paused as he briefly smiled. "Your friend could persuade you," he gestured towards Harper.

"Like hell I will!" Harper responded sharply.

Tyrone approached Harper and put his fingers at the base of Harper's neck, his hand resting on his chest. "There's so many ways I could get your lover to persuade you," Tyrone grinned with excitement.

Beka smirked. "Actually that's the funny thing, he's not my lover, or my boyfriend, he's not anything like that in fact," Beka stated, a glance at Harper was enough to convince the human that she was deploying a tactic to benefit them both. "I don't even know his name," she shrugged.

"It's true, we met like an hour or so before you boarded," Harper sighed, showing defeat to reflect that their game was up.

"You didn't seem like strangers," Tyrone objected. "Quite the opposite."

"Don't you ever get lonely?" Beka asked. "Besides you were trying to steal my ship, I wanted him on my side to better my chances of defeating you," Beka hinted then changed tact. "Look, that's my ship, and my home, I'm not going to release it to you."

"It's dead in the water," Tyrone argued.

"And that's why I picked myself up a mechanic to fix it," She gestured to Harper. "A passing freighter was only too happy to get him off their hands," Beka confirmed. "He's a trouble maker apparently, what you saw was me trying to tame him, gain his confidence so I could get him to fix the ship and then dump him at the next drift."

Tyrone seemed to be buying the story as he removed his hand from Harper's neck. "It explains a lot, I was wondering what a great looking woman like you was doing with a loser like this, what is he, a kludge?" Harper looked to the deck at the insult, only partly playing the role as he heard Beka agree; he hated that word. "But the fact remains, I want your ship, lady," Tyrone stated clearly.

"Why? It's a bucket of rust," Beka argued, mentally apologising to the ship in her mind.

"Spare parts," Tyrone shrugged.

"Please, it's all I have," Beka begged openly, another change of tactic. "Come on, just let me and this kludge go and forget about us, we're only wasting your fuel as you drag the ship across the galaxy."

"I'm a reasonable man," Tyrone offered with some thought, somehow sensing that with the revelation that he hadn't picked up two love struck lovers, that he had very little to convince the lady to hand over the command codes. Sometimes he just preferred the simple life, without the headaches, and she clearly wasn't interested in him and she certainly didn't seem to be the kind of lady to mess with. "And you're right, your ship is causing a drain on my systems, we'd be better off abandoning you," he considered reasonably.

"Look, in the hold I have some high guard force lances, top quality," Beka stated. "How about I leave you those, will that make the decision easier?"

"We never found high guard items on your ship," Tyrone countered.

"You think I have my most precious cargo on open show?" Beka questioned. "They fetch a decent price on the black market, probably the same amount you'd get for the ship in spare parts."

"OK," Tyrone reluctantly agreed. "You're one smart lady who has just got herself a deal, so you may go," Tyrone gestured. "Get out of my sight, and take the rust bucket with you."

"Great," Beka smiled as Tyrone gestured to the door relieved to have worked a deal, but she immediately spotted a problem. "What about him?" Beka gestured to Harper.

"What about him?" Tyrone shrugged.

"He was fixing my ship, I paid for him," Beka argued.

"The deal was the force lances, nothing about the kludge," Tyrone noted.

Beka glared at Tyrone. "Without him my ship is going no where!"

"You wanted your ship back, you have it back," Tyrone argued, and Beka glanced at Harper, seeing the concern in his eyes. "But if you want the kludge back, I can certainly think of one way in which you might pay for him," he looked up and down Beka's body, repulsing her as he did so, but he felt it was his last chance to try his luck.

"Don't," Harper spoke up towards Beka. "Not for me," he added. "I'm not worth it," he said in a voice that was telling Beka, rather than suggesting. "I was just stringing you along, I have no idea how to fix that piece of junk you call a ship, I was just after a free ride and some fun at your expense," he added spitefully in character, and giving Beka no option.

Beka looked at Harper with a pained expression; she didn't want to leave Harper on this man's ship but she certainly didn't want to entertain any idea of pleasuring Tyrone either, but Harper had put paid to her even considering that choice now.

"I'll get the Force Lances, and then take my ship," Beka said slowly, looking at Harper once again and she clearly looked torn, but for Tyrone's benefit she then glared at Harper. "You piece of filth, stringing me along for a meal and a roof over your head," she stated in character, as she moved so close to Harper she was practically touching him and she felt him tense up. Beka ignored his reaction, and put her hand to the side of his face, her own face now only inches away from his, and Harper was clearly uncomfortable leaving Beka to wonder if it was genuine, or part of his act as a stranger to her.

Beka then whispered so that only the engineer could hear. "I will be back, with the others, so hang in there and don't do anything stupid! Words of the day, low profile," she warned, with her lips so nearly touching his as she spoke. Beka held her close position for a few seconds longer, holding the stare that locked both their eyes onto each other, and her hand brushed through his hair. Beka then grabbed hold of the blond spikes and pushed Harper's head back against the wall in a sudden show of anger, once again for the benefit of Tyrone.

"Now aren't you glad I found you, and exposed the lies this little kludge was throwing you?" Tyrone offered, attempting once more to win favour with Beka. "Although he has just ruined any chance I might have had in finding out so much more about you."

"Life sucks, deal with it," Beka stated harshly, and quickly left the room unable to look back at Harper as she left.

Tyrone frowned sadly, but then smiled as he looked back at Harper. "But I'm sure I'll find some other form of fun at your expense," he stated clearly.

* * *

The Maru was now three light years from it's original position, that was something at least, Beka considered as she tucked into another bowl of soup, her appetite now slowly returning. The Maru felt empty and it was too quiet on board. Beka frowned as she tried to imagine how Harper was doing; but she couldn't even imagine and didn't really want to. This was all her fault, if she hadn't got sick she could have helped him sooner with repairs and they could have got the Maru working again, but she had distracted Harper too much. The rational side to Beka's thinking told her to be reasonable, it was no ones fault but those losers from the drift that had attempted to blow them up in the first place.

Then that kiss, Beka put her spoon down with some frustration, as the image haunted her now. Harper had reacted exactly how she had expected, he respected her, she was his boss, and now Beka feared that she had lost some of that respect and certainly some trust. Only Beka had felt something else with that kiss, once she had realised that it was Harper that she had been kissing, and that was what troubled her.

Beka knew without doubt that she loved Harper, not romantically, she had never really looked at him in that way, but she loved him on a much deeper level. A level that she rarely showed in her emotions towards him, but one that was always there, just below the surface. That kiss however had been the first time she had physically connected to Harper in such an intimate way and it hadn't affected her in the way she always imagined kissing Harper might. It felt more natural then she ever imagined it would, even if she had kissed him in error and in a somewhat delusional state.

She loved Harper like a brother, and well, she knew never to go there, but for some reason she didn't feel repulsed by it. Harper's reaction was the one that concerned her more because he clearly did, and she didn't want him to feel that they could never be intimate like that. They were not brother and sister so it wasn't an issue on that score, but Harper clearly had a problem with her getting too close as he showed once again, when she had got close to him before leaving Tyrone's ship.

Beka hoped that she was simply over reacting to the situation, and that the stress and strain of the past couple of days were affecting Harper's reactions. She wanted Harper to be able to completely trust her, and to feel comfortable with her and show affection if he so wished. But Beka also knew there were bigger issues here, Harper had personal issues from his past and that obviously played a part in his reaction, she was sure of that. Harper was not an openly affectionate person to begin with and winning his trust was always an ongoing battle, and losing it was too easy a thing to have happen.

Now that Harper was in the hands of some scavenger, Beka felt his absence even more to the point of pain, having no idea how Tyrone would treat Harper but she could guess easily enough, the fact he referred to him only as a kludge wasn't a great sign, and Beka was naturally afraid. Beka could only hope that the Andromeda would turn up soon, so they could trace that ship then reclaim her friend, she would never forgive herself if something happened to Harper.

* * *

A few hours later, Beka cursed again as she received a shock from the console. She hit it with frustration before taking a moment to compose her emotions, now she felt drained with the last part of her fever refusing to back down. Beka was trying so hard not to also curse Harper for not being there, reminding herself repeatedly that it was her own fault that he wasn't there, so instead she blamed the Andromeda and her crew for taking their own sweet time it responding to their distress signal.

The ship suddenly shook and made Beka yell out, this time with anger. "Not again!" she stated, knowing that another ship had docked with the Maru. "Did I take out an advert in Scavengers Monthly, declaring that this ship was for easy taking?" she fumed loudly, as she grabbed her gun and quickly headed towards the airlock.

Beka positioned herself by the air lock, out of sight, with her gun armed and ready. The door soon opened and Beka placed her gun into the head of the first intruder.

"Not so," Beka stopped mid-speech as she took in the person before her. "Harper?"

"Boss," Harper already had his arms up in the air defensively. "Mind taking that gun out of my head, I'm here to help."

"Harper!" Beka exclaimed, forgetting herself and the situation for a moment to embrace him, a hug that Harper hurriedly tried to escape, and in doing so he quickly disarmed her, putting the gun out of sight by placing it in a gap in the bulkhead behind Beka. Beka was about to question him, when she felt they were not alone.

"So," a new voice spoke up behind Harper. "You've only known each other for an hour or so?" Tyrone came into Beka's view and she quickly backed away, inwardly hating her more compulsive instincts. "Harper?" Tyrone made a point of speaking Harper's name.

"I told you she's crazy," Harper stated trying to rescue the situation, as he sneered towards Beka.

"You've told me a lot of things, Fahey, or should I now use your real name, Harper," Tyrone stepped up to Harper angrily.

"All of those things are true, come on," Harper offered backing himself into a bulkhead, showing some fear as well as discomfort. "Remember the plan?" Harper prompted with his last trace of hope.

"Plan has changed," Tyrone lifted his gun towards Harper. "I no longer trust you, boy, I was a fool to even let you talk me into coming back here! You clearly do know each other, and your plan was to make a fool of me, never to take this ship!"

"Well, I still want to take this ship," Harper shrugged with consideration. "Just, maybe not for you as such," he finally conceded to being caught out, he raised his arms in defeat backed into the bulkhead.

Beka looked at Harper, and she saw some new bruises and cuts on his face, he looked a mess, she figured. Slowly Beka crept behind Tyrone as the creep approached Harper, with his gun still raised.

Tyrone placed the gun firmly against Harper's forehead, leaving the human to just wildly stare up at it. "No one makes a fool of me, do you understand that yet, kludge?" Tyrone hissed, and without warning he brought the gun up sharply and then just as quickly back down across Harper's head, sending him to the floor. Harper cried out and then scrambled to recover his composure, finding that he was now on the deck backing away from Tyrone, whose gun was still aimed at him.

Beka glanced around and found where Harper had hid her gun in the bulkhead, Tyrone was now too caught up with Harper to pay her any attention, Harper had been right to consider the man a fool. Quickly Beka took the gun, checking it was still armed she raised it towards Tyrone.

"Lower your weapon or lose your life," Beka stated firmly, moving forward. Harper used the distraction to kick Tyrone's gun from his grasp, before scrambling out of harms way to where Beka was stood. "Or you can let the kludge disarm you himself," she smirked. "Move it," Beka then barked with force, gesturing to Tyrone to move back towards the airlock. "I have given you force lances, but you will not get my ship, or my friend this time, so just beat it!"

"You two deserve each other," Tyrone spat as he stepped into the airlock. "And this damn ship."

"I think the same thing," Beka half smiled, glancing at Harper as he picked himself up off the floor. "Now don't ever come back!"

"Don't worry about that!" Tyrone snarled then smiled. "Even though I look the loser here, I've had my fun," he grinned towards Harper, as the airlock closed behind him.

Beka didn't relax until she heard his craft disengage from the Maru and disappear. With a heavy sigh, Beka turned to Harper and hugged him tight, this time he returned the gesture before he let out a distinctive 'ow' in pain. Beka quickly backed away and looked at Harper with concern.

Harper shook his head. "You just caught a bruise," he dismissed her concern with a comforting smile.

Beka shook her head. "You know when I ordered you to not do anything stupid?" Beka said as she finally pulled away from him. "That was what I meant!" she lightly scolded.

"I didn't like him, his crew or his ship," Harper simply shrugged in explanation. "And when I discovered I could use my persuasive tones on the guy, hey, it became fun," he half smiled. "And now, I need a Sparky," Harper then announced and moved through the ship to the serving area.

Beka followed him. "You're ok, right?" she checked on catching him up.

"Nothing a shower won't fix," Harper responded, now with Sparky in hand.

"And after that shower, let me look at these gashes, bruises, all that stuff on your head. You're starting to look like some abstract painting," Beka offered with a teasing smile.

Harper just nodded his head with amusement. "So, have you eaten?" he asked with slight concern.

"Harper, you don't have to play nurse now," Beka smiled fondly.

"Beka, it's important for you to eat, you'll get over the ill effects of food poisoning quicker that way," Harper warned.

"I've eaten, don't worry," Beka smiled, amused by Harper's concern after the ordeal he had just been through, but she did wonder if he was purposely avoiding the topic she wanted to cover. "So how did you persuade Mr big and desperate to come back?"

Harper shrugged. "I kept talking and I guess he must have felt there were some truth in my words, the fact I did keep talking whilst, well you know, being a prisoner and stuff," Harper shrugged awkwardly.

"What do you mean, whilst what exactly?" Beka questioned, now more concerned by that than how Harper had got the guy to return.

"I'm a kludge, it's a universal thing, a right almost," Harper simply said before moving towards the bathroom, throwing his empty Sparky can to the deck.

"Seamus, that's not a reason!" Beka snapped; following him and putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him walking away, she wanted to, and needed to discuss this.

Her touch however, made Harper shirk away with a grimace, one that looked suspiciously like pain. Beka withdrew her hand quickly and just stared at Harper for more, but he just looked at the ground.

"Beka," Harper finally said with a low voice.

"Let me see," Beka requested with fear in her voice.

"I need to shower," Harper explained, without reaction as he tried to move but Beka took hold of his arm to stop him.

"You were planning to hide this from me?" Beka accused. "You don't trust me?"

"Beka of course I trust you," Harper stated quickly.

Beka didn't seem convinced. "Then let me see what that psycho did to you!"

Harper closed his eyes for a moment, his breathing controlled. "Please, I just want to shower, rest and then fix this ship."

Beka let Harper go and he walked along the walkway towards the bathroom, but he stopped at the door, placing his hand on the doorframe he seemed at odds as he looked downwards. Beka remained where she stood, just observing him as he considered his next move.

"If you really need to see," Harper began with some hesitation in his voice. "I won't lock the door," he simply finished as he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Beka looked upwards, typical of Harper to pass the buck and leave the decision to her. Did she really need to see the hidden damage she suspected, what would it really serve to her other than to deepen her anger at the man she had let walk off this ship without so much as a bruise on his own body.

She found herself walking forwards, towards the door, curiosity was too strong for her to ignore and she needed to see for herself what Harper had experienced. Placing her hand on the handle, Beka paused and lightly knocked.

"Come in," Harper's voice returned quietly.

Beka stepped inside the bathroom and found Harper still fully clothed, sat on a small bench normally used for stacking the towels on. His head in his hands, he was rubbing his face and looked as though he was ready to break down, his emotions seemed to be so close to the surface, something Beka rarely saw.

"Just say if you want me to leave," Beka hesitated, seeing Harper so vulnerable made her feel like she was pressurising him to do something he didn't want to do.

"It's not you, Boss," Harper offered, his head still buried in his hands. "It's me," he now nervously laughed, as he finally looked up at Beka with his eyes wet. "Why?" he simply asked, his voice carrying desperation. "How much am I supposed to take? I can't help what I am, and I'm a little bit sick of being this universe's whipping boy!" his voice now strong with anger.

Beka quickly moved to Harper's side and put her arm carefully around his shoulders, bringing him closer to her. "Seamus, I'm so sorry," Beka offered quietly.

"Beka, this isn't your fault, ever since I've breathed this has happened to me, it's just the way things are, nothing ever changes," Harper stated firmly. "See a kludge, beat it senseless, and then move on."

"No, Harper," Beka stated firmly.

"Yes," Harper lightly argued. "And I can't help myself, boss, I challenge anyone who's looking for a fight. I don't like being beaten but I sure find it happening a lot in my life, and I think it's because I think I need it."

"Need it?" Beka now challenged with confusion.

"All my life, Beka," Harper began to explain, as a solitary tear ran down his cheek. "I've been told I'm this and that, worth nothing, a stupid kludge, slime of the universe," he stated with anger. "But I've always defied that, on Earth I made a name for myself," he brightened slightly. "I realised I could make a difference, then I escaped that hell, and I find myself with you guys. It goes against everything I was brought up to believe," Harper stressed with passion.

"So you think you purposely go looking for fights, to be knocked back down?" Beka checked, thinking ahead on his train of thought. "You did not go looking for that Psycho today, Harper, he found us and I made a mistake that kept you on his ship," she reminded him.

"If I had stayed on Earth, and kept myself to myself," Harper continued absently. "Instead of putting myself in the spotlight, how many beatings, how many torture sessions, how many explosions would I have most probably experienced by now?" he questioned harshly.

"Harper," Beka could now see where he was going. "You do not invite trouble."

"No, but trouble sure likes being my best friend," Harper returned sharply.

"Look, what are you trying to tell me here? You want a safe life? One away from the threat of anything remotely dangerous?" Beka asked. "You want me to dump you on the next planet that says a big 'yes' to happy, safe and sound?"

Harper considered her words carefully. "Sounds kind of dull," he rationalised softly, threatening to smirk.

"Harper you only find yourself in this position because you are able to beat the odds," Beka explained. "And I admire that in you," Beka stressed.

"Admire me?" Harper checked unsure.

"Harper, no offence but you are a kludge, who for some reason that I have never been able to explain, can happily walk around on a drift with all manner of life forms and races, most of whom would rather spit on you, than look you in the eye. Yet you don't even seem to think about it," Beka said with fondness. "I could never be as comfortable with that as you are and don't try and tell me you're not, it may be a consideration somewhere inside that head of yours, but its way down the list when you step into any situation like that," Beka explained. "You don't let who you are drag you down, you walk tall, or as tall as your shortness allows, with any race regardless of your background," Beka smiled, seeing Harper react with a smirk to her teasing of his height.

Harper sat up and took a deep breath, and with a slight shrug he half smiled as he looked at Beka. "I can do that, Beka, because I'm not a kludge," Harper stated with conviction. "I'm a human being, who happens to come from Earth," he stated confidently, as he got to his feet.

Beka nodded her head in agreement. "Don't let this universe get you down because of it, Harper," she encouraged.

"I don't, generally," Harper smiled, and then brightened slightly. "It just gets me down that power is afforded to the many jerks that are bigger and uglier than me, and they seem to constantly like reminding me of that fact," he grimaced as he attempted to stretch his aching muscles.

Harper then started to remove his T-shirt, but soon stopped as he creased up his face with pain. Beka stood up and tentatively moved forward.

"Want a hand?" she offered, and was pleased when Harper accepted her help. "Can you lift up your arms?" she asked, and he nodded his head, she then grabbed the hem of his shirt, standing barely inches from her friend, all the while keeping eye contact to gain his trust as she gently smiled.

"You know," Harper nervously smirked. "What's the betting that loser Tyrone will walk in on us again, looking like this?" he raised an eyebrow as Beka lifted his shirt over his head.

"With our luck, it'll be Dylan and the rest of the crew that catch us," Beka smiled with amusement.

"They won't believe it purely innocent," Harper explained nervously, showing that he was far from relaxed with the situation, as Beka threw his shirt on the floor.

"Harper," Beka said softly. "They can think what they like because this is innocent and completely ok," she said with assurance. "Now, I don't see too much here that could have caused that reaction earlier," she stated glancing at the small but minor cuts and bruises scatter about his chest and ribs, but still keeping strong eye contact.

"My back," Harper looked nervous now, as his breath became short.

"You trust me right?" Beka checked again. "Seamus, you don't have to be nervous, I don't bite."

"I know," Harper stated, closing his eyes with frustration. "I just don't handle this sort of thing very well."

"What sort of thing?" Beka asked, interested to hear his response.

"This," Harper explained as it if was obvious. "It just makes my instincts ask me why you are doing this and what you are after from me," he admitted with a strained voice.

Beka frowned, obviously a little taken aback by the confession. "What I am after? Harper, I'm a friend and I'm concerned that you are hurt and that you have tried to hide this from me," she explained with care. "I don't want anything."

"Now," Harper nervously smiled. "I know that, that logical part of my brain, it's telling me that, boss," Harper accepted, but there was conflict in his voice. "But there's this whole other part that screams at me to be cautious, keeps telling me that you are only caring about me now, because you want something later, and I know that's not true," Harper tried to counter, looking slightly distressed, before Beka could protest again.

"But," Harper shrugged, pausing for a moment before he continued, he now looked agitated. "Just look at my back, let's just get this over with so I can clean up and," Harper was now panicked and Beka urged him to stop talking.

"It's ok, Harper," Beka gently spoke as she took hold of his arms and encouraged Harper to turn around. Beka tried not to say anything as she took in the sight, as Harper's back came into view. Random and painful red marks scattered his entire back; some open wounds were clearly visible in some parts, with dark bruises in others. Blood had already dried on some areas, and his back was red raw and looked highly uncomfortable. "Harper," Beka finally spoke, feeling her nausea return but this time due to concern, not sickness. "How did you plan to keep this from me?"

"I didn't plan anything," Harper simply responded. "I just wanted a shower, some food, some rest," he explained. "But that guy sure knew what he was doing with that stick," he offered meekly as if it was relevant, and with a hint of experience.

Beka sighed and urged Harper to turn back to face her. "Once you've showered, we're going to treat those wounds and all the others I know you have," Beka simply said, looking up at the minor cuts and bruises on his face. "I'll leave you to it, but if you need anything, just yell," she stated.

"Usually I'd ask for a back scrub," Harper grimaced. "But I think I'll pass on that this time," he smiled.

Beka could only shake her head, knowing that his humour was never far away. Without warning Beka placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned forward to kiss his cheek, before moving towards the exit.

"What was that for?" Harper had to ask.

"For being a friend," Beka offered brightly and left the room.

Harper raised his eyebrows, before turning his attention to taking the shower he had promised himself a good many hours ago.

* * *

"Ow!" Harper complained.

"Quit moaning," Beka chastised lightly, as she leaned over Harper's back and gently applied soothing lotion to his wounds.

"It burns!" Harper protested, lying on his front and burying his head into the cot in the Maru's medical area, as he continued to squirm under her touch.

"Because it's suppose to," Beka stated firmly before moving away. "Now for some of these I'll have to apply some form of dressing, just a short term measure until we're back on the Andromeda."

"Where the hell is that ship anyway?" Harper questioned, as he felt a bandage being placed over his left shoulder blade.

"Who knows, but they should have got our distress call by now," Beka answered, placing a final bandage on another part of Harper's back. "Now turn over, I want to look at that leg," Beka ordered and Harper did as he was told, choosing to now sit up as the option of lying on his back didn't really appeal.

Beka moved his cargo pants up, to reveal a nasty looking burn like abrasion on his shin; it wasn't particularly big, just looked painful. "You shouldn't have ignored this injury, Harper."

"I had little choice if you remember," Harper pointed out, turning his nose up at the sight himself, his shin had seen better days.

"That alien must have had one of those Electro style weapons, and a bad aim," Beka pointed out, seeing there was no entrance wound. There was just a lot surface damage that had caused the bleeding. The energy pulse must have only grazed Harper, which at least explained why he could still walk as much as he could. "Still took off the top layers of skin though, and probably bruised the shinbone so to speak, this will leave a nasty scar if we don't get to the Andromeda soon."

"It's annoying," Harper creased his face up as Beka tentatively probed the wound. "Itches like crazy, and feels like someone is heating up my skin, like really bad suntan, not that you're familiar with that," Harper grinned.

"It just looks very painful," Beka offered, as she began to treat it.

"And it is," Harper agreed once Beka had put a medicated bandage over the affected area.

Beka took hold of Harper's chin and moved his face to one side to check the wound on the side of his head, that had concerned her a day or so earlier. "It looks as though that gash has sorted itself out, I'll give it a quick clean, but that can wait for Trance's more tender care."

"Something to look forward to," Harper brightened slightly, and Beka pushed her hold on his chin back slightly in light humoured response.

"Now," Beka looked at Harper closely, he was now pretty much patched up and cleaned. "Feeling better?" she asked.

"Yeah," Harper admitted as he jumped down from the cot, and absently moved his head from side to side, stretching his neck muscles.

"You sure?" Beka checked more firmly.

Harper instinctively stopped and looked at her. "Yeah, feeling great," he offered quickly.

Beka moved forward and checked Harper's neck, seeing the minor scratches and light bruising that Beka was glad to see were fading. Her hand brushed lightly over Harper's port, and he stepped away sharply on instinct, they both stared at each other for a moment.

"We should get started on other stuff, repairs?" Harper broke the brief silence.

"Harper," Beka seemed nervous as she awkwardly approached her friend, closing the distance between them. "When I," she hesitated with a forced grin to appear casual. "When I did that kiss thing, did I," she took a quick deep breath, looking embarrassed almost. "Did I touch your port?" Harper shied away and didn't respond, moving towards the exit. "Harper," Beka stopped him.

"Yeah," Harper admitted. "It's ok though, you're not the first to interfere with it," he offered with a comforting but mocking smile. "Just don't try and explain why, because I really don't want to know why you chicks do that," he grinned with the air of teasing, relaxed in the aftermath of the incident.

Beka scrunched her face up. "Is that why you don't like people touching it?" she questioned with some surprise.

"Certain people, at certain times, yeah, it's not, shall we say, appropriate," Harper offered and looked a little caught out. "It's just a little uncomfortable, but sometimes I don't mind the discomfort, sometimes," he shrugged a little awkwardly.

"Food?" Beka suggested, swiftly changing the subject.

"You should eat," Harper agreed, just as eager to move on.

Beka crossed her arms. "As should you," she reminded him, knowing he can't have eaten in the past eight hours at least.

"Ok," Harper willingly agreed, as he grabbed his T-shirt and with some assistance from Beka he pulled it back on, and they both headed towards the serving area.

* * *

This time Beka served the food, and managed to find some form of ready meals that hadn't been damaged, and came already served and just needed heating. After a few minutes both meals were ready to eat, and Beka quickly brought them over to where Harper was waiting.

"Not the best form of food, but considering our fortunes recently, it's the best we can hope for," Beka smiled as she put the hot food in front of Harper.

"I actually prefer this stuff to the so called healthy options," Harper pointed out and readily tucked in.

"That's because you are a disgusting individual," Beka pointed out with a smile. "I've never met anyone who actually likes rationed food before."

"Hey," Harper said between mouthfuls. "When you've eaten a dead rat followed by five day old cheese, taken from said dead rat, then you try telling me that this isn't the finest cuisine available."

Beka turned her nose up and had she not been as hungry as she felt, she might have pushed her plate away, but she knew Harper wasn't purposely grossing her out, knowing he was actually speaking from memory.

"Sorry," Harper offered after a brief pause.

"For what?" Beka asked as she began eating her meal in earnest.

"People don't like me talking like that," he said with regret. "About the rats and stuff. Trance once told me that I can give away too much information sometimes, information that some people just can't handle and I guess that's the sort of thing she meant."

"It's not that so much," Beka admitted. "It's just I can't relate to being that hungry, that desperate that I'd not only eat a rat, but it's cheese as well," she attempted a smile but it looked more like a frown.

"Feels like a lifetime ago," Harper looked distant as he remembered. "In fact sometimes I wonder if I actually did ever live like that, it feels so unreal at times."

"Is that a bad thing?" Beka wondered absently.

"Not really," Harper returned, before he took another mouthful of food.

"What did it taste like?" Beka idly asked.

"What?"

"Rat?" Beka prompted.

Harper seemed a little thrown by the question, he'd never been asked to go into too much detail about it before. "Not much different from this," he teased looking down at his rations.

"Seriously, Harper," Beka responded with a smile.

"I don't know, like any kind of meat, like chicken, or duck maybe, so long as you had the luxury of being able to cook it first," he shrugged. "Otherwise it tastes more like," Harper paused and saw the look on Beka's face. "Too much information again?" he checked and Beka just nodded her head, and then grinned at him as she continued to eat.

Finishing his meal, Harper got up and threw the container away then grabbed another Sparky Cola can. "Aw man, I've only got two cans left," Harper noticed with a slight panic in his voice.

"You'd better hope Andromeda turns up soon then," Beka teased.

"Or get those damn engines fixed, as well as the environmental controls!" Harper exclaimed, the ship still wasn't at a comfortable temperature but he had found an old jacket finally to wear, after he had his shower and he now eagerly put it on.

"Harper, we're in safe space, or safer," Beka spoke calmly. "Go and get some rest, by the time you wake I'm betting the Andromeda will have arrived to rescue us," she assured him.

"You're right," Harper agreed, feeling the sudden wave of tiredness hit him. "Wake me up if there's any problems."

"If I did that you wouldn't even get to sleep," Beka mocked as he left the area, leaving Beka to finish her meal alone. "Don't worry, just rest and forget this hell for a bit," Beka said with conviction, her smile convincing Harper to do just that as he left the area.

* * *

Beka frowned as she pressed a few more buttons, looking up she listened intently to the sounds of the Maru. She could hear straining; almost an attempt to work, and then the sounds disappeared.

"Damn you, Maru!" Beka snapped as she returned to the conduit to attempt another tweak, in the hope she could get the environmental controls fixed.

Beka absently tried a different chip, and there was instantly a spark, and then she watched as fire suddenly erupted before her, and Beka backed out of the conduit with speed. "Not good," she remarked and spun around for an extinguisher. There was a small noise and then it became even more silent than before. "And it just got worse," she said to herself, before putting the fire out.

With a sigh Beka examined the area she had just inadvertently set fire too, it was blackened, melted and Beka guess beyond repair. "Well, I guess that's the environmental controls needing replacing," she frowned, and already she could feel the colder air in circulation.

Beka decided to walk away from repairs for a while and moved back into the ship, it hadn't been a complete failure; she had successfully managed to get short-range communications working as well the navigation. All that had really told her though was that the Andromeda was not on top of them, and that it wasn't in communication range. It had now been nearly Forty-nine hours since she had sent the distress call and so far they had heard nothing in return.

Grabbing some of the spare blankets, Beka heading towards the sleeping quarters and found Harper still sound asleep. Gently she felt his face and found he was stone cold, but not wanting to wake him, Beka took a couple of the blankets and wrapped them around Harper. In his sleep Harper moaned a little and then settled into the warmth of the blankets.

Beka moved away, feeling the cold more herself and she decided to find some more layers in her own quarters. Things would only get colder until they could get new parts for the environmental controls, and until the Maru was moving again that would not be anytime soon.

Retrieving a warm jacket, Beka headed to the pilot's seat, intending to scan the navigation charts for any sign of life. Fifty hours or so was a long time, Beka considered, and she was started to grow a little concerned. They had not packed for a long trip but quite the opposite, and what food they had had been mostly destroyed by the first set of intruders. They were supposed to meet up with the Andromeda, not the other way around, so she knew the ship was not scheduled to come back to this space.

The fact remained however, that their systems were shot, it was getting colder, and their food was dangerously low. Neither of them had packed all that much, thinking they'd only be away from the ship for Eighteen hours tops returning the same day they had left. Neither of them had brought spare clothes, and they had no books or other items to keep them occupied, it was supposed to be just a routine supplies run.

Beka did still had some of her own items on the Maru, she still considered it home but as far as she knew Harper just had what he walked onto the Maru with, back when it was docked on the Andromeda, which was basically the clothes he wore when the temperatures were correct. With a frustrated sigh, Beka moved away from the pilot's chair, it was too depressing to think about. All she wanted to see right now was the sight of the Andromeda just outside, as she walked back through the ship she heard movement.

"Harper?" she called out.

"Boss, you saving on the heating bill?" Harper returned, and she glared at him as she entered the serving area. He was wrapped up in the blankets she had put over him whilst he had slept.

"I tried fixing the systems, but they are beyond repair," Beka offered. "I think I may have made it worse," she shrugged.

"You think?" Harper now teased. "Actually been meaning to update the environmental systems, just never got around to it, it's been on its last legs for a while now," he admitted.

"Harper, there's still no word from the Andromeda, so sip that drink," Beka warned, seeing the Sparky in his hand.

"It's been ages, boss, you think they are alright?" he questioned with concern.

"It's us I'm more worried about right now, Harper," Beka returned flatly, moving to what was left of the blown up storage cupboard and finding even less food than she thought was in there. "We have just snack food now, no more meals."

"That's alright, in the short term," Harper sounded positive.

"It's not enough to last another twelve hours," Beka warned.

"Beka, I've survived on less," Harper reminded her casually. "Besides, I'm sure the Andromeda is just a few slips away, it'll be here before we reach panic stations."

Beka smiled. "You're right, I'm sure I'm just panicking for no reason."

"Look on the bright side, no ones tried to take this ship off us in the past ten hours," Harper offered with a manic grin.

"Small mercies," Beka returned. "Besides, now we're running on almost no power, I'm sure we're blind to a lot of vessels."

"Including the Andromeda," Harper pointed out.

"They have a homing beacon," Beka reminded him.

"Yeah, which relies on power, and it's reliant on the environmental system being operational, and we have neither right now," Harper frowned. "You see, it's considered that whilst a ship has life support and all that jazz, then there's something to find, so they usually hook up the old beacon to that system."

"And ours is dead," Beka stated with a resigned sigh.

"And thus, so is our beacon, but fear not, I'm sure I can work something out, re-route something to get it in tune with Rommie," Harper offered quickly.

"I've got navigation and short-range communications back on line," Beka informed Harper, who was heading towards the walkway that led to the engine room.

"Good, now we just need some more juice, this place is just too damn quiet," Harper looked upwards, allowing his uncertainty to show.

"I've only been able to get the power back up to ten percent," Beka sighed. "I think it's a lost cause until we can get this thing back on the Andromeda and shut it completely down."

"We have to try, Beka," Harper shrugged, but his stance showed that he agreed.

"Just don't laugh at my attempts to fix things," Beka called after him.

Harper shook his head as he walked away. "Ruin all my fun," he complained as he headed towards the engine room to try and salvage something from the dying, if not already dead ship.

* * *

Seamus Harper paused for a moment, he could now see his own breath and he finally noted the cold air surrounding him, he shivered as the cold chill made itself known to him. Grabbing the blanket that had fallen to one side, Harper wrapped himself up again, wishing that he had brought a warmer jacket and making a mental note to leave more of his things on board the Maru in future.

Looking over to Beka, Harper could at least show some relief that she appeared in good health again, only a little more tired than usual. All his own aches and pains seemed to have faded, and it was only hunger mixed with the cold that threatened to ruin his steady progress with the repairs. Beka was busy trying to uncover the simpler repairs, where all that was needed was redirection of power, and she was doing a fine job, they were now up to fifty-percent power. If he could just get the engines online, they would at least be able to register better on scans and start moving again.

The engines however were not co-operating, and it was starting to frustrate Harper because he couldn't see what else he could do. This rarely happened, usually he'd only have to look at a circuit board and he would see the problem, but right now, either he couldn't think straight or he simply didn't know how to fix it. It couldn't be the latter, Harper inwardly seethed, he never didn't know how to fix something, it just never happened. Throwing his scanner down, Harper got to his feet and headed towards the serving area, he needed a drink, he just had to step back and think about things, and it would come to him he was sure. Harper had only just reached the serving area when he heard Beka following him.

"Harper? Are you ok?" Beka asked.

"I'm fine," he stated with annoyance clear in his voice, then realised that he had let the blanket drop as he had got to his feet in the engine room, and the cold air was now attacking him. "I just need a drink, a hot drink," he stated and reached for the coffee. "There's just enough for two cups," he offered towards Beka, who nodded her head in acceptance.

"We might as well eat the last of our supplies, whilst we're here," Beka said as she walked to the cupboard and retrieved a pack of potato chips.

Harper brought the two mugs of coffee over to Beka and his expression lacked its usual upbeat nature. For a few minutes they silently sipped their drinks and took their fair share of the chips.

"What if something has happened to the Andromeda?" Harper finally asked, with his hands clasped around the hot mug of coffee, embracing its warmth.

"It's something we have to consider," Beka reasoned. "Where does that leave us?"

"With a major problem," Harper frowned. "I can't get those engines online," he announced.

"What's the problem?" Beka asked.

"I don't know," Harper confirmed.

"What?" Beka found herself asking before she realised that she had responded.

Harper stared intently at his mug. "I have done everything I can think of, tried everything, Beka and they still don't work," Harper stressed, clearly annoyed with his own failure.

Beka put a comforting hand on her friend's arm. "You'll work it out, I'm sure," she smiled.

"Not this time," Harper dismissed easily, and finished his coffee.

"Harper, you're tired, hungry, and all the stuff that's happened lately, it's no surprise that you're finding things a bit tough," Beka attempted to explain but was quickly cut off.

"Don't make excuses for me, Beka!" Harper snapped, as he got to his feet.

"Seamus!" Beka stood up and stopped him moving away, grabbing his arm and she stared at him. "I need you to stay focused, I need those engines online," she stated firmly.

"Yeah, and what else do you need?" Harper snapped back without thinking, his expression showed regret almost before he had spoken.

Beka paused, taken aback by the comment. It had sounded accusing and she didn't want it to mean what she thought the tone had implied. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing," Harper retreated and tried to release Beka's tight grip on his arm without success. "Look, I am tired, hungry, cold and all that other stuff," he offered but he knew Beka wanted more.

"Seamus, what did you mean?" Beka demanded, her own anger growing.

"Beka," Harper protested. "You're hurting me," he tried pulling his arm again and this time Beka let go.

"Sorry," Beka sighed as she moved away. "Are you referring to anything in particular, Harper?" She asked a little calmer, needing to know.

"No," Harper returned. "I don't know what I mean, can't we just forget it already?" he asked, his voice softer now. "I have to try and fix those engines," he tried to deflect the attention.

Beka decided she couldn't let it go, and the tone of his voice had cut right through her when he had made the remark; she couldn't just ignore it. "You told me that you suspect anyone who tries to get close to you, do you suspect me because of what happened?" Beka had to ask.

"It was just an accident, a misunderstanding, I know that, you thought I was someone else," Harper quickly offered, trying to sound cool but also confirming that his comment had been related to the mistaken kiss after all.

"What about the other stuff?" Beka pushed.

"Other stuff?" Harper questioned, knowing full well what she meant but looking as though he didn't want to go to that place.

Beka moved slowly forward. "On Tyrone's ship, and in the bathroom, we got real close didn't we," Beka smiled. "Harper, I didn't think you would notice this soon," Beka said with a more sultry tone.

"Notice what?" Harper said with a nervous air as he slowly backed away from Beka's advances towards him.

"That I need you, Seamus," Beka smiled with intent as Harper backed himself into the bulkhead, slightly grimacing as he was sharply reminded on the injuries to his back. "Don't damage yourself, not now that we're so close," Beka said with concern.

"You're crazy, you must still be sick!" Harper stated harshly, but he was frozen as Beka stood immediately in front of him, almost touching.

"I'm completely cured, Seamus," Beka almost purred as she looked at him, then slowly a smile spread across her face.

Harper regained his senses and pushed Beka away. "Get away from me, I know you're just teasing!" Harper snapped angrily.

"Come on Harper, you see how ridiculous it is now?" Beka stated strongly, having made her point. "I don't want anything from you, I just don't understand why we can't get close sometimes. You shirk away, or get nervous if I invade your space and maybe, with this situation, I've just noticed it a bit more," she explained then frowned. "Why do I repulse you so much?" Beka questioned.

Harper stopped at the exit, his mind a flurry of anger, fear and embarrassment but Beka's words had crashed through his thoughts. Slowly he turned around, needing to confirm just one thing before he left. "You don't repulse me, Beka, I just respect you too much to want to mess things up between us."

Beka stood still as Harper quickly returned to the engine room. It made some sense, she figured but she knew there was still more behind it, his initial comment and reaction had been defensive and instinct driven. Returning to the table, Beka finished her coffee, allowing Harper some moments alone before she returned to her work in the engine room.

* * *

They had been working alone and in silence for nearly three hours, from his cramped position amongst the cables of the engines, Harper stood up to stretch and to give his sore back a break. His fingers were almost numb now and he needed to get his circulation back in active order to heat his frozen body.

Moving from his position with forced speed to generate a more rapid heartbeat, Harper glanced over to where Beka was on the floor apparently working on the underside of a console. Already, Harper knew she was too still, and he hurried over to her position. On reaching her he saw that her eyes were closed and her body was cold to the touch where she lay.

"Beka?" Harper called out, shaking her shoulder. There was only slight movement in reaction, then a light groan. "Beka wake up, if you need to sleep go to your bunk and wrap yourself up, you shouldn't sleep like this," Harper warned, still shaking her to get her to wake up.

Beka's eyes finally opened and Harper moved back slightly, taking his hand away from her shoulder. Beka noticed this action and frowned. "It's alright, I won't kiss you again," she stated before rubbing her face. Harper didn't respond, but hovered close to her, making sure she didn't fall back to sleep immediately. "I must have just closed my eyes," Beka tried to explain.

"You should rest," Harper advised and offered to help Beka to her feet.

"How's your work going?" Beka questioned.

"It's not, I'm actually in amongst the engines now in a somewhat desperate attempt to find the reason why they freaking won't work," he complained, and Beka now saw the black grime that covered the engineer to support his words.

"If they don't work, they don't work," Beka frowned tiredly. "Maybe we just have to accept that and hope we're found soon," she sighed.

"No, I'm not going to rest until I know why they are not working," Harper responded firmly. "It's my job, remember?"

"And it's my job to ensure my crew don't kill themselves on duty," Beka returned.

"I'm fine, besides if I wasn't doing that, I'd just be sat in a corner shivering, and being reminded of how hungry I was, I need to keep working," Harper explained as he walked with Beka towards her quarters.

"And what would I be doing?" Beka questioned Harper's theory.

"Probably the same," Harper shrugged.

"So we wouldn't be supporting each other, sharing body heat, the usual survival thing?" Beka asked wearily.

Harper didn't speak for a moment, they reached Beka's quarters and they stepped inside. "Maybe," he finally spoke.

"Maybe?" Beka asked. "Look, come here," Beka directed Harper to her bed and gestured to him to sit down. "I know that kiss has completely thrown you, as well as this whole sorry mess we find ourselves in, and I'm sorry, ok?" Beka said with concern. "I wasn't intending to do that, it wasn't some big plan, I genuinely thought you were someone else, and I was sick," Beka explained firmly, as she stood before Harper. "And the other stuff I've done, I've only done it because," Beka hesitated before continuing. "Because you're my friend and I wanted to," she offered. "I know that kiss, the marks I left on you, has done something that has made you less trusting of me," Beka frowned. "And maybe I have pushed you a little since, but its only because I care, because you're my best friend, Harper, and I want to be close to you and just feel you respond to me, does that even make sense?"

"I guess," Harper reluctantly responded, then shrugged. "Nothing has changed, Beka," he offered.

"It has, Harper, please don't let some fever inspired delusional kiss ruin our friendship," Beka now spoke softly as she knelt on the ground, looking up at Harper sat on her bed.

"It hasn't ruined anything, Beka," Harper tried to assure her. "It was just bad timing," he offered. "I'd been running around, trying to look after repairs, keeping an eye on you, being reminded about how much I hate nursing sick friends, so much was going on inside this head, that kiss just threw me," Harper finally admitted. "This whole situation is starting to freak me out a little, it doesn't feel real and I don't think either of us has been acting ourselves. That comment I made, it was more an example of this sorry mess, than about that kiss, Beka," Harper said with some care.

"I know, but it still hurt to hear it," Beka said but still comforted Harper, as she moved up and sat beside him. Cautiously Beka put an arm around Harper's shoulders, and after a few moments he put his own arm around her waist. "It's been pretty intense, hasn't it, with the intruders, sickness and now abandonment," she offered a weak smile.

"I'm sorry," Harper offered. "I shouldn't have said what I did, but it was just the situation talking, not me, I didn't want to hurt you."

"You don't have to apologise," Beka smiled as she lightly kissed Harper's temple, glad that he was allowing her to be close to him again. "And you're freezing, I'm not letting you go back out there to fix those engines, you're staying with me."

"Cunning way to get the Harper into your bed, see, I knew that's all you wanted," Harper lightly joked this time, and to show Beka that he was ok with it, he laid down first. "Come on then, let's do the sharing thing," he prompted, and Beka soon joined him as they rearranged the blankets around them, and found a position they were both comfortable with, with Harper resting against Beka's back, his arms protectively covering her.

"This is nice," Beka spoke up after a few minutes, feeling the shared warmth.

"Cosy," Harper agreed, as he rested his head against Beka's back.

"You're not going to take advantage, right?" Beka mocked, and made a show of moving his hands to more appropriate locations.

"Not that I'd warn you if I planned to," Harper teased, feeling comfortable in their embrace, as they were both still fully clothes it really wasn't all that bad, he considered.

"What happened?" Beka finally asked once some more time had passed.

"When?" Harper was confused.

"When you developed the paranoia of people wanting something if they got too close to you," Beka stated.

"Beka, it's just how I am," Harper wearily returned.

"So you won't tell me specifics?" Beka questioned.

"What can I say?" Harper lightly protested. "I don't know exactly why," he offered. "And it would probably take too long to even try to explain."

"We have time," Beka pointed out.

"Well I don't exactly feel up to a counselling session with Doctor Valentine," Harper objected. "Look I'm close now, right? So just be happy with that, we're both tired so lets just rest, ok?" Harper partly snapped, feeling Beka was pushing him too hard again.

Beka responded by shifting position, turning around so she was facing Harper in the embrace between them. "This is closer," Beka observed, bringing her hands up to the sides of Harper's face, but she could feel his breathing quicken and his nervousness. "Harper, I'm your friend, you trust me, right?"

"Right now, in all honesty I think you're out of your freaking mind," Harper returned with a panicked air, she was too close, for a friend and he couldn't help his reaction. "Why are you doing this?" he questioned with uncertainty.

"Doing what?" Beka asked innocently.

"Putting pressure on me like this," Harper stated nervously.

"I'm not, Harper, why do you think that's what I'm doing?" Beka asked calmly. "We should be comfortable like this, you trust me, and I trust you. I'm just showing you that we should be able to do this with no hang ups, so what's the problem?" Beka persisted, as he hands continued to stroke the sides of Harper's head.

"What's the problem?" Harper's voice was angered. "You're making a god damn fool out of me, that's the problem!" Harper snapped and quickly moved out of Beka's bed towards the exit. "Yeah, bet that was real fun, mock Harper and his stupid insecurities, yeah, great laugh!" Harper stormed. "You must be really bored to sink so low, Valentine!" he stressed before leaving her quarters with fury.

Beka sunk back into her bed and frowned, not even knowing herself why she had just done what she had done. Harper had every right to be mad at her, she was mocking him, pushing him to a place he had already made clear he was not comfortable being in, yet he had still managed to compromise, and she should have been happy with that. She was now angry with herself and her actions, what had got into her lately, Beka fumed, why was it so important all of the sudden to be close to Harper, to feel him?

"Oh god, no," Beka suddenly whispered to herself, a realisation dawning on her as she closed her eyes. "Not Harper, that is so wrong," she told herself. It was the situation, and it was finally making her crazy, only explanation, Beka considered with a panicked air. Grabbing the blankets, Beka wrapped herself up tightly in the hope that after some sleep she might be able to think more rationally about the situation she now found herself in.

* * *

Harper was still mad, it had been nearly an hour since he had left Beka's quarters and he was fuming. Why did it always happen? Harper often wondered if he had gullible victim plastered across his face.

"Yeah, mock the Harper, easy target," Harper said to himself as he aggressively opened some plating, covering the part of the engine he planned to tear apart next to find the fault.

The cold air was really starting to bug him, and the blanket was no longer providing the protection it once was. Harper took steady breaths, his hunger and thirst was fast becoming an issue too. His mind focused on his work, and tried to ignore his incensed growing anger at the situation he found himself in, both with Beka and being unable to fix the engines, it was wearing him down, and he knew his concentration was waning.

Finally, as Harper lifted another panel, waving away the dust and strange smells that surrounded it, he saw it, the problem he had been searching for and it was a simple burned out chip but it gave him all the hope he needed. Prodding it with his hand, Harper dislodged it and cursed the thing as he threw it across the deck.

Getting quickly to his feet, Harper scampered back through the ship to retrieve the spare part that would replace the chip, there were some on board that he had picked up just before this crazy mess started. Harper now felt he was just minutes away from fixing the problem that had delayed him for nearly a day already, and finally getting the engines fired up again.

Reaching the cargo bay via the ladder, Harper suddenly caught himself from falling over as he stumbled, he reached out to steady himself on the bulkhead. Feeling light headed suddenly, the engineer was confused, he didn't feel sick but his vision was blurring and he had double vision on top of that.

Harper attempted to move forward but the momentum pushed him too far and he felt himself falling onto the deck, only barely managing to break his fall with his hands. "What the," Harper heavily breathed but couldn't finish, as he pushed himself up and crawled for a while before exhaustion overcame him completely and he collapsed onto the deck, unable to move.

"Beka," Harper managed before his world went black.

* * *

Waking with a start, Beka's eyes snapped open and her skin felt like ice as she pulled the blankets up even further. Then she remembered, and she sank deeper into the blankets feeling every inch the fool, it wasn't true, she did love Harper but it was purely on a level that certainly did not enter the loving relationship territory. Covering her face, it took Beka a moment to register the silence, checking the time she realised that in the past five hours that she had been asleep, Harper still hadn't managed to get the engines online.

Hoping that he had given up and gone to bed, Beka knew she should check on Harper. Now rested herself, she knew that she could continue with the smaller repairs again. Grabbing all her blankets and wrapping herself up in them, Beka reluctantly left her bed and started the slow walk to the engine room.

"Harper?" Beka called out before she entered, unsure of the response she would get, if any. Walking further into the engine room, Beka figured it was the latter at the lack of any response. Looking around however, she became aware that Harper wasn't there, but his tools and the area he had obviously been working in didn't appear to show signs that he had packed up.

"Harper?" Beka called again as she returned to the centre of the ship, checking in the crew quarters and seeing none of the bunks occupied, she began to grow concerned. Calling his name louder now, Beka listened intently to any sound but heard nothing.

Beka now moved with more urgency as she rechecked the common areas, then the cockpit, and then the engine room again. This time she spotted a broken chip on the deck, 'spare parts' she loosely figured and quickened her pace, heading towards the cargo bay, wondering why Harper hadn't responded to her shouts.

Climbing the ladder and reaching the bay, Beka's heart seemed to stop for a moment as she caught sight of Harper's prone body lying on the deck.

"Harper!" Beka shouted loudly as she rushed to be by his side. Quickly she removed one of the blankets she had draped around her and covered Harper's frozen body, she knelt down beside him. Harper's breathing was shallow and weak, she didn't have to use a machine to determine that, as she could easily hear and see it in his limited motion. His face was pale, highlighted by red-rimmed eyes, and his lips were practically blue. "Harper," Beka spoke with concern as she gathered his head in her arms as she sat with him, already knowing she was too weak herself to carry his almost dead weight to the medical area.

"What the hell happened?" Beka asked, knowing he couldn't answer. He appeared to be in a deep state of unconsciousness, not responding to any exterior stimuli, but she hoped that she could break through and get him to wake up. Not knowing if the cold of his body reflected the amount of time he had been unconscious or just the fact the ship was nothing more than a portable refrigerator right at that moment.

"I'm sorry, Harper," Beka held him tightly, her concern evident as she clung to him now. "I have been acting strange, the illness, this situation, what's happened," Beka continued to try and figure out the reasons why she had been acting up. She soon decided to focus on wondering what was wrong with Harper; it seemed to make more sense than her own actions, even though she had no idea why Harper had seemingly passed out.

He didn't have a temperature, and there was no visual sign of illness. Beka really didn't want to believe that he had simply passed out due to the cold, hunger and tiredness. Harper could be stupid at times but not that stupid that he would risk his health like this she considered, and she wanted to believe that he would know when to rest.

"Maybe you weren't thinking straight," Beka sighed as she held him closer. "Maybe this is all my fault," she frowned. "Where's that damn ship!" Beka now raged as she gently rocked Harper in her hold. "You're killing us here!" she yelled upwards with frustration. "How about coming to save us, Captain Hunt!" she continued her rant to no one in particular.

"Beka," a hoarse voice sounded.

"Harper?" Beka suddenly realised, surprised that she had woken him, but relieved as well that he was responding.

"Who are you talking to?" He asked, with his eyes still closed.

"No one," Beka conceded sadly. "Just panicking, sorry," she offered. "What happened to you?" She then asked.

"Not sure," Harper admitted, as he attempted to move but Beka was reluctant to let him. "I got dizzy, double vision and just collapsed," he remembered, sounding weak.

"Are you ok to move?" Beka checked as he continued to attempt to sit up, Beka finally assisting him.

"Have the lights gone out now?" Harper asked absently.

"No, we still have emergency lighting," Beka pointed out.

Harper's eyes darted about for a moment. "I can't see," he began to panic, his breaths short.

"Calm down," Beka immediately ordered as she took hold of his shoulders, although she felt the rise of panic inside her own body, what more were they going to be hit with? "You were pretty much out of it, so maybe in a few minutes you'll be ok," Beka assured him.

"Yeah," Harper said with only a slight air of uncertainty.

"I've got you, if you can walk, then let's get you down to my quarters," Beka suggested.

"You're not going to," Harper began with confused hesitation, his voice weak sounding.

"No!" Beka lightly snapped, already knowing what Harper was suggesting. "Look, I'm sorry," she quickly offered. "I took the joke too far, I know that and, well, we'll talk about this once we know what's wrong with you," Beka quickly explained, it was just a joke, it sounded plausible as an explanation to what she had been doing to Harper. She sure hoped it was at least, as the other possibility was just something she didn't want to consider right now.

"If I could see, I'd still be mad at you, Beka," Harper informed her bluntly, but he realised he needed her support right now. "But I'm willing to forget if you can just fix this," Harper said, his voice wavering and showing his true concern.

"I'll do what I can, Harper," Beka confirmed as they reached the ladder. "OK, you need to trust me now, more than ever," she stated firmly. "I'm going to be right behind you, but when I say foot down, you put your foot down and trust me."

"Ok," Harper tried to sound casual. "And I do trust you," he confirmed.

Beka positioned herself on the first step of the ladder and then stepped down a couple more rungs, facing the frame; she allowed enough room for Harper now. "OK, first foot down," she ordered and saw Harper nervously let his leading foot dangle down. Beka grabbed hold of it and placed it on the first rung, keeping a hand on Harper's lower back to support him. "OK, following foot, down," Beka instructed and pretty soon they were making good progress until they reached the lower deck.

"We did it," Harper showed the relief in his voice.

"You did great," Beka encouraged. "Now put your hand on my shoulder," Beka guided the hand that Harper offered and placed it on her shoulder. "And follow me," she smiled.

At first Harper was reluctant and lacked the confidence to keep up with Beka's initial pace but pretty soon they found a pace they were both happy with.

"Do you see anything yet?" Beka asked.

"Nothing, just nothing," Harper confirmed with panic in his tone.

"I'm sure it's just temporary," Beka responded, sounding strong and confident, at least on the outside. "You have no damage that I can see, you're eyes seem fine, so whatever's happened it hasn't damaged the eyes themselves."

"I don't remember doing anything," Harper stated with confusion.

"You didn't bang your head?" Beka checked, knowing that could cause hysterical blindness sometimes.

"Not that I can tell, normally I'd have a headache," Harper offered then stumbled and Beka swung around it time to stop him falling.

"What is it?" Beka asked.

"Dizzy spell, I think," Harper returned quickly, his eyes closed tightly.

"Are you in pain?" Beka checked, feeling his forehead but sensing no temperature.

"No," Harper confirmed. "Just disorientated," his voice giving away his panic and uncertainty.

"Your safe," Beka insisted, and she kept a hold on him.

"I feel like I'm moving, falling," Harper tried to explain the sensation he was feeling, it was disorientating his senses and he kept swaying in Beka's hold.

"You are perfectly still, I have you," Beka assured Harper with care, she then gently encouraged him to sit down, and she moved to sit beside him, holding him close to her for both warmth and comfort.

Harper suddenly tensed and seemed like he was trying to grab something to hold onto, but Beka's hold stopped him hurting himself. "Falling," Harper panicked.

"No," Beka confirmed. "You are not falling, Seamus, I promise, you are safe."

For a few seconds Harper's body tensed, then relaxed in cycles. All the while Beka assured him that he was safe, trying to get him to ignore his senses. Beka attempted to remain calm, positive but if this was real, if Harper had done something that had caused this, she wasn't sure if she could take much more of their bad luck. Harper continued to be lost in his own personal waking nightmare of falling, and Beka had no idea what was wrong with him, it was like the divine had grabbed them both from reality and decided to play for a couple of days, she felt at her wits end.

Harper finally let his head fall back against Beka's shoulder, and appeared to relax. "Ok," he panted as he attempted to calm down. "It's getting better now," and he squinted his eyes. "Beka, I see light," he then added with surprise.

"You do?" Beka smiled.

"Yeah," Harper grinned then paused. "Now colour," he then confirmed soon after. "It's a little fuzzy but I see things again," he stated with obvious relief.

"I told you it was temporary," Beka held him tightly, thinking that maybe her ranting thoughts had struck a nerve with the fates finally.

"Aw man," Harper relaxed fully, controlling his breathing now. "What was that?" he questioned with confusion as things slowly came back into focus.

"That," Beka stated with a sigh. "Was the last of our problems, agreed?"

"Agreed," Harper half laughed. "We've not had the best couple of days, right?" he frowned.

"Are we cool?" Beka asked.

"We're cool, always will be," Harper said with renewed optimism, he was just so happy to have his sight back, everything else now just paled in significance. "Sorry I flipped."

"Sorry I pushed," Beka responded quickly.

"This is kind of cool," Harper settled down in Beka's hold. "I'm just so tired," he simply said, his voice reflecting his willingness to give in to the tiredness, as he closed his eyes again.

"Yeah," Beka nodded her head before resting it on top of Harper's head. "It is strangely comfortable," she closed her eyes, sub consciously bringing the blanket that covered her shoulders around, so it covered Harper as well.

"We should rest," Harper murmured.

"Right here, in the passageway," Beka stated softly.

Within seconds they had both drifted off to sleep, exhausted, hungry and cold, but together.

* * *

Flashlights lit up the passageway on the Eureka Maru and then quickly rested on the two sleeping humans, the two beams found each one. Huddled in a blanket, in a warm looking embrace, Harper and Beka seemed comfortable enough on first sight.

"Trance," Dylan Hunt's voice sounded as he opened comms. "Prepare med deck, I've found them," Hunt confirmed and glanced at Tyr, before checking their life signs. "They are both weak, we should hurry."

"We're lucky they are still alive," Try noted as he took Beka into his arms, feeling how cold her skin was against his own. "It looks like they had a similar run of bad luck as our own, if the serving area is anything to go by and the complete system failure," he added looking around the eerily quiet ship.

"It's a wonder they still are alive, what do you think happened to this ship?" Dylan asked as he picked up Harper.

"What didn't happen," Tyr continued to observe as they headed towards the air lock.

Dylan frowned as he felt the cold air, and heard the silence. "It must have been pretty bad for Harper to have not been able to fix it," he stated.

Tyr was forced to nod his head as he followed Dylan out to the docking bay of the Andromeda. "The little man is going to have his work cut out for him, after he finds out what has happened to the Andromeda as well."

"Let him get over this little crisis first, then we'll tell him about the Andromeda," Dylan stated with a diplomatic air, seeing the Mariabots waiting for them with trolleys to take both Harper and Beka the rest of the way to med deck.

* * *

The sparks were seen before Beka spotted Harper, she looked around the Maru's engine room with a touch of hesitation, it had only been a few hours since the Andromeda had finally picked them up, and the recent memories of her time on board were still very fresh in her mind.

"How did you convince Trance to let you out of Med Deck so soon?" Beka spoke up to get Harper's attention.

Harper stopped welding and removed his goggles. "You're awake," he simply observed. "You feeling better?"

"Much, and you?" Beka half smiled. "Not inhaling any more suspect gases from the inner core of the engines are you?" she mocked, Trance had told her what had caused Harper's funny turn earlier, and the temporary blindness.

"Hey, I'm use to environmental controls filtering the bad stuff out," Harper attempted to explain to an amused Beka. "I wasn't thinking," he added with an embarrassed grin. "But I was just about to fix the problem with the engines, when I accidentally inhaled, so I convinced Trance that I just needed to do this so I could rest more easy."

"Liar," Beka teased. "You just didn't want to have the Maru out of action any longer, taunting you in this hanger bay, and the crew knowing or worse, asking why you couldn't fix it," she grinned.

"Speaking of being out of action, have you seen the state they have returned the Andromeda back to me in? She barely moves, no wonder it took them so long to reach us, jeez did lady luck go on vacation for a few days?" Harper questioned with mock anger. "Oh, and you should be honoured that I'm getting your ship fixed up first," he stressed on a roll.

"I am, Harper," Beka knelt down by Harper, and rubbed the back of his head fondly.

"What are friends for," Harper shrugged casually, glancing at Beka with a brief smile.

Beka gently nodded her head, as she removed her hand. "I told you one day we'd look back on that experience and laugh," she grinned.

"I didn't believe you then, I barely believe you now," he returned quickly. "But maybe in a few more days," Harper returned to work, sealing up the panel he had just fixed, he didn't want to be reminded just yet of what they had just experienced.

Beka notice the lack of shared amusement in Harper's expression. "You're right, it's a bit soon," Beka said with a frown. "Did you tell Trance to treat your back injuries? I saw from her records that she just let you recover and wake up naturally, she obviously didn't believe that Seamus Harper could get into any serious trouble stuck on the Maru for two days," Beka smirked with amusement.

"No," Harper simply said, then looked up at Beka. "Don't tell the other's about that," he requested with a hint of pleading in his voice.

"You sure that's wise?" Beka questioned. "It must still be painful, my treatment was only ever a temporary measure," she added with concern.

"I'll live, you did a good enough job treating the wounds," Harper answered focused on checking the welding he had just completed, and avoiding Beka's concerned gaze.

"I understand," Beka half smiled, although she really didn't but remembering Harper's feelings of being a victim, she could appreciate that he didn't want the additional attention. "Tell you what, how about I break into the Med Deck, take some of Trance's best gadgets, and see if I can't check those wounds myself, make sure they are healing ok?"

Harper just shrugged, then looked at Beka. "Ok," he conceded finally. "And Beka," the engineer paused with some uncertainty, then put down his tools and turned to Beka with care. Without warning he reached out and embraced his friend, and Beka responded by wrapping her arms gently around Harper.

"Promise never to go weird on me again," Harper remarked, with his face buried into Beka's shoulder.

Beka could only laugh, with her own face against Harper's shoulders. "I'll try not to," she stated. "And how about we both promise never to leave minimal supplies on the Maru again?"

"From now on, I'm stocking those storage shelves with Sparky Cola, and rations myself before every trip," He explained, still in Beka's hold. "Enough to last a year, and when I repair that cupboard, it'll be of more resilient weapon proof material," Harper stressed with conviction. "And all my warmest clothes are already on board now," he added and Beka knew he wasn't exaggerating that last part, Harper was strange enough to do all that he had just stated to the letter.

"That's my paranoid engineer," Beka confirmed with a smile, and finally let Harper go.

"You wouldn't want me any other way, admit it," Harper jested.

Beka couldn't only smirk, not allowing her mind to think of the alternatives. "Well, you make sure you continue to rest as soon as you're done here, and only with the engines, don't go starting anything else," Beka stated with authority. "For once I'm not all that keen to take the Maru out for a little while, at least a couple of days so you have plenty of time to fix her up," Beka advised warmly. "Now, I'm going to go and have a long deep soak and then bed for the rest of the year," she stated with a heavy sigh and she made to move.

"Er, boss," Harper spoke up, and even though she was already moving away, and before she had a chance to turn around to face him, Harper had clambered to his feet and was already stood right behind her. "You know, something did come out of that experience, I did learn something," Harper stated with an awkward air as she finally faced him.

"Yeah?" Beka questioned.

Without another thought, Harper reached up and held the sides of Beka's face, and before she could stop him, he kissed her on the lips. Beka was too stunned to return the kiss in any capacity, and by the time it registered Harper had already pulled away, leaving Beka looking dumbstruck.

"I learnt that you have your ways, and I have mine," Harper's expression was full of mischief as he smirked at Beka, crossing his arms in a challenging posture. "Personally, on a scale of one to five, five being the best, I would say my method rates highly," Harper announced with a cocky air.

"Harper," Beka could only managed, unsure of how to react.

"Beka, we're even now, I just wanted you to know that all that stuff that happened," Harper partly shrugged. "We're cool," he smiled fondly.

"You just kissed me," Beka pointed out, regaining some of her composure.

"Hey you started it," Harper defended with amusement. "And I really have no objections to finishing it," he said with an air of suggestion in his expression, enjoying the moment.

"But," Beka tried to protest and already fell short on an argument, but giving it some more thought she started again. "I was delirious when I kissed you," Beka reminded him bluntly.

"And I've been inhaling strange substances, who knows if it's cleared my system," Harper mocked himself. "You know, if you want, I could be forced to take some of the measures you yourself took when you were concerned about my own issues with that kiss," Harper prompted, still with a hint of menace in his voice.

"Ok, ok," Beka stated with defeat, wanting to put an end to Harper's enjoyment at her expense. "You got me, and on your own terms," she realised that maybe there had never been a problem, other than they had been in each other's space for too long whilst they were stranded on the Maru. "I think I understand now," she smiled with fondness.

"Finally," Harper smiled genuinely in return. "But if you do want to continue these experiments in our emotions towards each other, you know progress further, I might be able to quickly get over my social skills issues and assist you with your research," Harper offered, with a genuine if sarcastic air.

"Fix the engines," Beka simply said.

"Right boss," Harper agreed and jumped back down into the pit, where he had been working. As he watched Beka start to move away again he grinned with mischief. "I look forward to your visit, when you'll give me my back rub, I mean treat my wounds," he teased lightly.

"Enough already," Beka called back. "And I'll give you more than you bargain for, if you plan to keep this up, Harper," her voice rang through the Maru.

"Promises, promises," Harper returned nearly in hysterics as he tried to resume his work once more.

Beka stood by the air lock of the Maru and smiled broadly, but still slightly shaking her head as she listened to the welder fire up again in the engine room, and then heard what appeared to be attempts at singing. The confident, sure-fire and mouthy engineer she knew and loved was back in his place, brought about due to the security of his current situation. Out of danger, with people he trusted all around him, it didn't seem to take long for Harper to relax once more after the hell they'd both experienced.

Finally, Beka conceded to the fact that the past few days had certainly been an experience, and one that had helped her to understand and appreciate Harper even more. With a final smirk, Beka left the Maru to the capable hands of Harper, and focused on her bath, hoping that the strange feelings and traumas of the past few days would soon be left behind as they both got on with their lives, and their friendship.

The End


End file.
